The World Health Organization expressed worry as condom use among sexually active teens has declined significantly in Europe over the past decade, putting young people at significant risk of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.
Data from a survey of more than 242,000 15-year-olds across 42 of the 53 countries that make up the WHO European region, which includes Central Asia, showed that the proportion of sexually active teenage boys who used a condom the last time they had sex fell from 70 percent in 2014 to 61 percent in 2022.
The figure for girls who said a condom had been used the last time they had sex fell from 63 to 57 percent.
Almost a third of adolescents said they used neither a condom nor a contraceptive pill the last time they had intercourse, largely unchanged from 2018.
The report also showed that teens from low-income families were more likely not to use a condom or a pill, with 33 percent reporting using neither during their last intercourse, compared to 25 percent from more affluent families.
“Age appropriate comprehensive sexuality education remains neglected in many countries, and where it is available, it has increasingly come under attack in recent years on the false premise that it encourages sexual behavior,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said.
“The truth is that equipping young persons with the right knowledge at the right time leads to optimal health outcomes linked to responsible behavior and choices,” he said.
The WHO said that in addition to higher rates of STIs and unplanned pregnancies, inadequate sexuality education also leads to increased healthcare costs and disrupted education and career paths from young people.
The agency urged policymakers, educators, and healthcare providers to invest in comprehensive sexuality education, improve access to sexual health services, promote dialogue, and better train educators.
Filipino society, which can still be considered conservative in many ways, can benefit from the advantages of such a national viewpoint, but at the same time, cannot allow it to endanger or hold back young lives, when important matters such as sex education and access to sexual health services are not given attention it deserves, simply because the topic is difficult to broach.
At this point, it is up to the country’s adults to make sure that the youth are prepared to face the different challenges that inevitably come about with life. Facing these challenges may be difficult and awkward, but it is something that cannot be ignored or pushed aside anymore.*
