WHO raises the alarm: 1 in 3 teenagers are no longer using condoms
2024-08-29 10:45:16
TiranaPost
The World Health Organization has raised the alarm. 1 in 3 teenagers are no longer using condoms.
"This situation exposes young people to a significant risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies," writes WHO Europe.
The data was collected from more than 242,000 15-year-olds in 42 European countries.
The percentage of boys who reported using a condom in their last sexual intercourse was 61% in 2022, up from 70% in 2014.
The percentage of girls who said they used a condom last time fell to 57% from 63% over the same period. Nearly a third of teens (30%) said they used neither a condom nor a birth control pill during sex, a rate that has remained nearly constant since 2018.
A difference is also observed between teenagers who come from rich families and those from poor families.
33% of teens from the poorest families said they did not use condoms or birth control pills, compared to 25% of teens from the wealthiest families.
For the WHO, in addition to increasing sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies, insufficient sex education causes an increase in the cost of health services and generally harms young people's prospects for both education and employment.
