Where Masculinity is in Play - Latin America

Where Masculinity is in Play draws on children's love of sport and play - and the reverence they often have for those who coach them in or otherwise enable those activities - to change attitudes and behaviour. The project also relies on the popularity of athletes in general, and soccer players in particular, in this region.

Specifically, PAHO and WHO are using interpersonal communication and printed materials to reach boys - through their soccer coaches. A manual called "Soccer School: Playing for Health" has been designed for soccer coaches so that they might learn how to incorporate lessons about gender equity, adolescent rights and responsibilities, and healthy lifestyles into soccer training.

Since December 2003, PAHO's Adolescent Health Team has been working with the Cruyff Foundation to help adapt and validate this manual in 6 selected countries in the region: Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, and Uruguay. Once each country has adapted and validated the soccer manual and its associated curriculum, PAHO plans to mobilise national and international funds for implementation of the project on a national and regional scale. This process will be informed by the curriculum evaluation as part of an effort to ensure that the project's communication strategies support the acquisition of healthy attitudes and behaviours, as well as equitable gender competencies, among participating youth.

Gender, Reproductive Health, Rights, Youth.

In 2003, PAHO's Adolescent Health and Development Program (FCH/CA-ADH) developed a conceptual framework and strategies for a plan of action based on a life cycle approach in step with the rest of the Child and Adolescent Health (FCH/CA) Unit, as well as with adolescent determinants of health. The FCH/CA-ADH Plan of Action for 2003-2006 responds to the needs of adolescents and youth of both genders and different age groups between the ages of 10 and 24, and focuses on the most vulnerable adolescent populations in priority countries. The plan also seeks to address current and emerging needs in adolescent health, particularly in the areas of violence, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV/AIDS.