Youth constitute almost half of the country's population and are those most exposed to sexual and reproductive health problems. Young people are experiencing sexual relationships at younger ages: one in every two girls is a mother before the age of 19 years. Abortion is the first cause of morbidity and mortality among adolescent girls. Further, among those aged between 1524 years there is a strong prevalence of STDs, and more than 60% of new HIV infections occur in this group.

The Education for Life and Love programme primarily addresses Catholic school students and some outofschool students. Cameroon has nearly 280,000 students attending its 1200 Catholic and primary secondary schools. The sexual education programme begins in the third year of primary school, among 9 and 10year-olds, before sexual activities begin. It continues through secondary school to young university students aged 2025 years. Outofschool youth are involved in activities at church parishes, workshops and associations for youth and adults.

Under the supervision of a management team, Catholic education teachers, health personnel and peer educators take the message of responsible sexual behaviour to the students. They encourage the youth to gain knowledge, learn how to perceive risks and to develop self-respect so that they are prepared to assume personal responsibility for the management of their lives and health. The students are encouraged to communicate with educators in a climate of trust about sexuality and the problems they encounter. The students are also given concrete information about all aspects of human sexuality (including the fact that they need not be "slaves to instinct"), transmission, symptoms, treatments and prevention of STDs.

Health personnel counsel the students about HIV/STD prevention and provide care related to adolescent pregnancies. In addition, peer educators (aged 1825 years) are trained to organize "youth to youth" activities, counsel and provide information outside school at parishes and youth associations using role-plays, drama, songs, community surveys and group debates.

Parents and community leaders are also counselled to allay their fears that sex education will lead to early sexual activity among the children. The parents support the programme today and occasionally request materials and training to help them help their children.

The young people are increasingly asking educators for personal communication and counselling. However, they remain divided between the messages given by the media and their peers - encouraging them to be sexually active and have multiple partners - and those given by the programme that encourage more responsibility and reflection about their choices. While respecting individual choice, the programme therefore emphasizes values such as respect for human dignity and rights, equality of men and women (especially regarding young girls' right to control their own bodies), self-control, and respect for partners so that they are not used as "sexual objects".