SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

My project is about sexual and reproductive health education and how social media and online tools can help raise awareness on these topics. I use the UyatEmes site case study in Kazakhstan to analyze whether online tools can be used to deliver comprehensive sex education. Kazakhstan has a high prevalence of teenage pregnancy and adolescent childbirth of 24.93 for every 1000 girls. Access to comprehensive sex education is linked to lower adolescent childbearing rates. However, there is no compulsory sex education in schools in Kazakhstan. Only one out of ten teenagers in Kazakhstan are aware of HIV/AIDS. Teachers and parents are often reluctant and embarrassed to discuss the topics of sexual education and explain to teenagers about the reproductive system. The barriers to comprehensive and integrative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education include social and cultural stigmas, and lack of trained specialists and resources. I conducted an extensive literature review to study previous interventions by the government of Kazakhstan and the UNFPA. Several interviews with the UyatEmes site were also conducted to understand the project better. Based on the criteria provided by the SRH researchers, the UyatEmes site effectively delivers comprehensive sex education for youth.