Teenagers/Fertility/HIV/AIDS
Independent online, 25
October 2002, 'Today's virgins, tomorrow's Aids victims'
By
Elize Jacobs
Most South African teenagers have sex for the first time at the age of 14 or 15
and half of all today's 15-year-olds in
This was the grim picture painted at a seminar hosted on Thursday in
The meeting was also told that although
Social Development
and Welfare Minister Zola Skweyiya told the meeting that although fertility had
declined, a high birth rate still appeared to be a demographic reality in
certain developing areas. At the same time, teenage pregnancies remained a huge
problem, especially in poor and disadvantaged communities.
Dr Kim Eva, from
the
Eva said
adolescent fertility trends in
She said while the
country's total fertility rate of 2,9 births per woman was estimated to be one
of the lowest in sub-Saharan region, childbearing levels for South African
adolescents did not appear to be changing.
Adolescent
childbearing was still significantly high, she said, adding that teenage
pregnancies represented one third of all births. However, she said another
difference between
Other research
findings included that the high pregnancy rate among teenagers may be caused by
a combination of factors, including low contraceptive use and high sexual
activity among children at a younger age. Most of the youngsters interviewed
said they were having sex at the age of 13 or 14.
Senior research
scientist Professor Barbara Anderson, from the