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OPINION: The importance of teaching adolescents about condoms

OPINION: The importance of teaching adolescents about condoms

The most hazardous of all sexually transmitted infections, HIV, causes the virus that is AIDS. Condoms are quite efficient against it. The use of condoms is also linked to a lower incidence of cervical cancer, a condition linked to HPV. In order to safeguard their health and lives, it is essential that sexually active teenagers have access to condoms. But, during the past eight years, ultra-conservative, far-right ideologies have attacked condoms and their efficacy while outrageously asserting that informing young people about condoms causes them to engage in sex.

Different Flavors of Condoms

OPINION: The importance of teaching adolescents about condoms

Condoms aid in preventing pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as HIV, which can result in AIDS. Safer sex and contraception are shared responsibilities between partners. The majority of other contraceptive methods do not shield you from STIs, including HIV. Additionally, use condoms to protect yourself. As long as you are not allergic to rubber, condoms are simple to obtain and use and help prevent cervix cancer. Another variety of condoms is the internal variety. They are inserted within the vagina.

Even if you currently use another form of birth control to prevent pregnancy. It is very simple to purchase condoms from a variety of retailers, community health centers, Planned Parenthood health centers, and online.

They are affordable (or occasionally even free) and don’t require a prescription or ID to purchase. The compact, covert, and portable condom is a powerful tool for preventing pregnancy and STDs.

Teenage Pregnancy Rate

Teenage pregnancies among Filipino women between the ages of 15 and 19 decreased from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2022. As of 2022, the largest percentage of women aged 15 to 19 who had ever given birth was seen among those who were 19 years old (13.3%). Then came ladies who were 18 years old (5.9%) and women who were 17 years old (5.6%). As anticipated, the lowest proportion of women between the ages of 15 and 19 who had started having children was found among those who were 16 years old (1.7%), followed by those who were 15 (1.4%). 

Teenage Pregnancy

In 2022, the Philippines reported that 5.4 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 19 had ever given birth, 1.6 percent of them were expecting, and less than one percent (0.4%) had experienced a miscarriage. 

Sexually Transmitted Disease Rate

With more than 1 million people acquiring an STI every day, sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) continue to be a hazard to public health around the world. It is unknown how many people in the Philippines are infected with STIs besides the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Therefore, starting in 2011, the Philippine Dermatological Society (PDS) has made an effort to track STI infections in its facilities. Some of the most prevalent STIs in our nation include syphilis, human papillomavirus (HPV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and HIV infections. From 2011 to 2018, PDS facilities across the nation saw and treated a total of 665 syphilis patients, 2,053 HPV-infected patients, and 977 herpes patients. Contrarily, from January 1984 to August 2018, there were 58,181 new cases of HIV. 1,047 new cases of HIV were reported to the HIV/AIDS & ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) in August 2018 alone.

Medical with immunodeficiency virus.

References:

Advocates for Youth (2023) “The Benefits of Condoms” Rights. Respects. Responsibilty.

See Also

Mapa, D. (2022) “Teenage Pregnancy Declined from 8.6 percent in 2017 to 5.4 percent in 2022” Philippines Statistics Authority.

Planned Parenthood (2023) “What are the benefits of condoms?”  Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.

Vista, EG. (2022) “UPDATES ON SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES” Journal of the Philippines Dermatological Society

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