The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has called upon parents in the country to open up with their children when it some to issues of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

UNESCO projects officer, Naomi Munthali, made the plea in Lilongwe during an interface meeting with the Budget and Finance Committee of the National Assembly.

Munthali said; “It’s very important to implement comprehensive sexuality education in the country to ensure that young people have the right information and they are able to take care of themselves in relation to their bodies and how they can relate to other people.”

According to Munthali, much as the lawmakers have a critical role to play when it comes to sexuality education through national budgetary allocation, parents too have a leading role in ensuring that their children are well informed.

“We are expecting parliament to be able to take this information forward and monitor the implementation of the East and Southern African commitment which was done in 2013,” she said.

She further pleaded for allocation of more resources to ensure that these areas are smoothly addressed in the community.

The recent rapid assessment released in 2020 indicated that the coronavirus pandemic has contributed a significant rise in teenage pregnancies and child marriages.

Currently, as one of the areas, UNESCO is engaging parents by helping them how to communicate with their children on CSE in Zomba, Balaka and Machinga Districts.