The SHARP Programme (Sensible, Healthy and Responsible People)
Closing Statement
It is now accepted in many quarters that peer educators in secondary schools, directed by guidance counsellors, are needed for the large investment in life skills training to be made good.
Although healthcare provision at secondary schools can be managed as a largely separate issue, both programmes will benefit each other and should liaise with each other. For this reason, healthcare at schools has been canvassed in this proposal, even if the sexuality-education issue can be addressed more rapidly.
The SAPLER application of peer educator as full-time sexuality educator still appears to be rather unusual up to the present (February 2000) and can usefully inform larger projects.
SAPLER also has an established partner (St Peter’s) to pilot the re-introduction of school health visits, making good use of the community health worker. In addition, SAPLER and NIPAM have strong records of advocacy and may be able to promote other innovations.
NICDAM / Cotlands have a strong record of promoting community based care and building coalitions of partners top provide large scale solutions. A combination of paediatric AIDS care and adolescent sexuality education and health care will allow for synergies in training, deployment and resource sharing and administrative capacity.