Evaluation of My Future is My Choice (MFMC) Peer Education Life Skills Programme in Namibia: Identifying Strengths, Weaknesses and Areas for Improvement

The overall purpose of this research, commissioned by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Namibia, was to evaluate My Future is My Choice (MFMC), a national peer education HIV prevention life skills programme in Namibia, and to provide recommendations for improving and strengthening the programme. MFMC is an official extra-curricular life skills programme implemented by the Ministry of Education at secondary and combined schools. It seeks to protect young people from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and to prevent unintended pregnancies. The evaluation found that the MFMC programme is broadly perceived by users, implementers, and stakeholders in a positive light and regarded as beneficial for MFMC participants, as well as for participating schools.

The specific objectives of the evaluation were to assess the impact and influence of MFMC on young people, both learners and peer facilitators; assess the programme delivery mechanism of the programme, including the quality and ability of facilitators and trainers to deliver the programme; identify and analyse MFMC programme strengths and weaknesses based on evaluation results; and make realistic recommendations for improving the MFMC programme. The evaluation used a mixed-method approach that gathered both qualitative and quantitative data. This included questionnaires with learners who participated in the programme; interviews with current MFMC peer facilitators, contact teachers, school principals, coordinators, and the trainer of trainers; focus group discussions with MFMC graduates and peer facilitators; and participant observation of MFMC training courses, both of facilitators and learners.

The evaluation states that although there is room for improvement, the content and curriculum of MFMC are considered useful and relevant to the lives of young people and the issues they face. The authors suggest that the fact that there is a uniform call for MFMC participants, facilitators, and stakeholders to expand the programme to reach more young people speaks for the perceived benefits of MFMC.

Commonly reported strengths include the fact that the MFMC programme:

• creates awareness of HIV/AIDS, STIs, teenage pregnancy, and the dangers of risky sexual activity;
• promotes abstinence;
• teaches participants how to use condoms correctly;
• provides information that some learners may not otherwise be exposed to, especially in rural areas;
• teaches participants to care for people living with HIV/AIDS;
• teaches participants important communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills;
• enhances participants' self-esteem and self-confidence; and
• teaches participants how to resist peer pressure.

The qualitative research data indicates that the programme has enabled important, positive, and health promoting changes. MFMC graduates report, among other things, increased knowledge with regard to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS; the adoption of more protective sexual attitudes and practices; increased awareness of the effects of peer pressure; and increased awareness of the dangers of alcohol. Facilitators also reported various changes in their lives such as: becoming more knowledgeable about sex, reproduction, and HIV/AIDS; becoming more open and confident; becoming more accepting of HIV-positive people; learning how to facilitate in front of a group; and engaging in less risky sexual and related behaviours.

The evaluation also identifies various challenges and obstacles that compromise the effective delivery and implementation of the programme. These include:

• facilitators have limited knowledge and skills;
• high turnover of peer facilitators compromises programme continuity;
• the programme reaches only a small proportion of the group it is designed for;
• it is not integrated into the school curriculum;
• insufficient school buy-in, especially from principals;
• poor communication between the MFMC programme office and the schools; and
• uneven monitoring and evaluation and insufficient quality control.

The evaluation contains a number of recommendations that address many of the obstacles to effective implementation and also call for the expansion and institutionalisation of the MFMC programme. The authors recommend introducing targets for the programme as well as routine data gathering, since there are currently no internally-defined measurable targets against which to assess the programme. Organisers should moderate their expectations about what the curriculum can achieve and the programme should be seen as one important component of a more comprehensive HIV-prevention strategy among young people.

The report also recommends revising the curriculum to address gaps and weaknesses, and creating a professional cadre of peer facilitators with formalised, salaried positions and job stability. In addition, the report suggests: making the programme mandatory; addressing all grade eight learners; institutionalising the programme as part of the school curriculum; strengthening the monitoring and evaluation of the programme to ensure quality; and engaging parents and caregivers as stakeholders, since parents and caregivers play an important role in shaping young people's sexual and reproductive behaviour.