Case study: Projet Jeune Leader

This case study profiles Projet Jeune Leader (PJL), a Madagascar-based organisation that delivers a four-year comprehensive sexuality education curriculum through specialised teachers in public middle schools.

Projet Jeune Leader (PJL) was founded in 2013 by Maia Ramarosandratana after she found that short-term, one-off sexual health workshops left young people in her hometown of Fianarantsoa without anyone to turn to with follow-up questions. Starting with a US$15,000 grant and four rural schools, PJL has since grown into Madagascar's only organisation, public or private, offering comprehensive sexuality education in middle schools.

PJL's original model placed trained, salaried young adults, known as Jeunes Leaders, full-time in schools to teach a scripted four-year curriculum covering puberty, gender equality, consent, healthy relationships and violence prevention. In 2020, PJL secured an official partnership agreement with Madagascar's Ministry of Education, allowing it to deliver its curriculum in any school across the country. The most recent delivery model trains government-employed teachers as CSE educators, embedding the programme more deeply into the national system. Lessons are delivered weekly to boys and girls together, and educators also provide one-on-one counselling and organise extracurricular activities. 

Independent research, including a 2025 study in the journal Sex Education, found that former students reported lasting improvements in communication, empathy and self-efficacy years after taking part, with some also describing safer sexual behaviours and greater reflection on gender and relationships.

Key messages

• PJL's four-year comprehensive sexuality education curriculum is delivered by specialised teachers in public middle schools in Madagascar.
• The programme is the only one, public or private, offering comprehensive sexuality education in Madagascar's middle schools, and holds an official partnership with the Ministry of Education.
• A qualitative study published in Sex Education in 2025 found that former students reported lasting improvements in communication, empathy and self-efficacy two to four years after taking part.
• PJL uses tightly scripted lessons, introduced after early evaluations found some educators lacked confidence discussing sensitive topics, to ensure consistent and accurate delivery.
• The programme reframes adolescent sexual health as a shared community responsibility rather than something for parents or schools alone to address.