Children`s organisations to help form expert group on sexual health

Key social work organisations for children are to be members of
an expert group on sexual health, the Scottish executive has
announced.

Margaret McKay, chief executive of Children 1^st, and
Romy Langeland, director of the Aberlour Child Care trust, are to
be full members of the group that is otherwise dominated by health
professionals.

Announcing the formation of the group, Malcolm Chisholm,
minister for health, said: “Scotland still has a disappointingly
high level of unwanted teenage pregnancies – one of the worst in
Europe. We are also seeing further rises in sexually transmitted
infections.”

The remit of the group includes reducing unintended pregnancies
and sexually transmitted infections, enhancing the provision of
sexual health services and promoting a broader understanding of
sexual health and sexual relationships.

Chisholm said that there already was a great deal of research
and information on sexual health, but the expert group’s
remit is to translate that into an effective national strategy. The
proposals of the group are expected to be released in summer
2003.

www.scotland.gov.uk