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Africa’s young people are increasingly better informed about sex and sexual health, but many are failing to act on their better levels of sex education.
This is among the key results of a survey conducted in November on behalf of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) among people from the ages of 16 to 34 in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. The survey marks the organisation’s 60th year and reflects youth concerns on the continent where four million young people are reported to be living with the HIV/AIDS virus.
In the survey (called the IPPF Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Youth Index) more than 60% of sexually active young people in sub-Saharan Africa fear contracting HIV/AIDS and are concerned about getting pregnant. The figure was highest in South Africa, where 70% of respondents ranked these as top concerns related to sexual activity. This awareness and fear may be driving significant changes in behaviour.
A United Nations report released earlier this month showed that several countries with the highest HIV prevalence in the world have dramatically cut rates of new HIV infections over the past decade. Rates have decreased by 73% in Malawi, 71% in Botswana, 68% in Namibia, 58% in Zambia, 50% in Zimbabwe and 41% in South Africa and Swaziland.
Various interesting trends emerged from the IPPF survey. For example, although more than 80% of the respondents in Nigeria and Zimbabwe surveyed were under the age of 24, the majority who responded reported that they had not yet become sexually active. But between 15% and 20% of respondents across the four countries had had sexual relations while under 16.
Contraceptive use also formed part of the IPPF survey. 33%of sexually active respondents in Zimbabwe said they never use contraception whilst an equal percentage in the same country say they always insist on using some form of contraception. Almost 6% surveyed in Zimbabwe and Nigeria respectively reported that they would use contraception but it was unavailable. Fewer than 2% had the same complaint in Namibia.
“The attitudes and opinions of our next generation are invaluable; their thoughts will become tomorrow’s reality,” says Tewodros Melesse, the Director General of IPPF.
Melesse hopes the survey’s snapshot of young people’s approach to sex and reproductive health in 2012 will generate a fresh round of engagement among government and NGOs on the most appropriate way forward.
“The survey indicates that there is a high level of awareness of the importance of contraception, although there is some way to go in getting young people to act positively on that knowledge.
“It is also encouraging that there is such a high level of awareness and concern about the risks of unprotected sex. There is now greater opportunity for future campaigns among the youth to work at turning high levels of awareness into consistent safe behaviour.”
But, Melesse notes that while virtually all respondents were aware of the risks of HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the reliability of the sources of their information remains a concern.
When asked where they learnt most about sex, 39,6% of Zimbabweans, 33.6% of Nigerians and 26,9% of Namibians said that their friends were the primary source of knowledge. This was followed by school with family coming in third as a source of sex education. This is still considerably better than South Africa where less than 5% of respondents said their family was where they learned most about sex.
“The fact that parents are not engaging with their children on sex education is of great concern. Children need responsible and reliable sources of such information to be properly educated,” says Melesse.
“The state and NGOs can provide education and support, which these survey results suggest is happening increasingly. Now we really need families to teach children about sex, sexual health and responsible behaviour. Not speaking about it within the family actually increases the risks rather than preventing them.”
“The figures for sex before the age of 16 should still be a concern to everyone and further emphasise the need for family structures to talk about sex in a safe environment,” says Melesse.
In sub-Saharan Africa, current average fertility rates are approximately 5.1. The survey asked respondents “what’s the ideal size for a family when it comes to children?”. The overwhelming majority opted for no more than three children (84% in South Africa, 79% in Zimbabwe, 73% in Nigeria and 86% in Namibia). Only Zimbabwe and Nigeria scored significantly for larger family sizes (with 14% and 18% respectively thinking that over three children was an ideal family size).
More than 9,000 young people in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Namibia took part in the survey conducted by Pondering Panda, a consumer insights and research company.
For more information please visit: http://www.ippf.org/
Post published in: Africa News