A sexual education program has helped to halve the number of HIV infections in teenagers in the South African province of Gauteng in just six years. The program focused on persuading youngsters not to rush into having sex but also pushing the same sex message if they did have sex by encouraging them to use condoms.
Condom use among young men is said to be at 80%. However, the message is still taking time to get through according to figures from the Gauteng AIDS Council – the pregnancy rate among schoolgirls remains high and the highest rate of new HIV infections is in women aged 15-29.
The council is a partnership between Gauteng Provincial Government and various local government and community-based organisations. Part of its role is to reduce HIV infection in the province – at the moment around 16% of the population in Gauteng is HIV positive. The council’s other main function is to ensure those who do have the infection get sufficient treatment and support.
The safe sex message has been delivered in schools and through media campaigns focusing on families. The council’s next priority will be to focus on men who have unprotected sex with teenagers and young women. The HIV infection rate among these men is much higher than average and they are less likely to use condoms.
South Africa is believed to have more people living with HIV and AIDS than anywhere else in the world. Problems of lack of education, unemployment and poverty have exacerbated the problem, in particular among young women who choose to pursue relationships with much older men to get them out of their situation. The issue of inter-generational sex and gender-based violence that leads to higher rates of HIV in young women and some boys is another matter of concern for the Gauteng AIDS Council.
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