Aids Focus

Primary schoolchildren need sex ed - minister

2011-11-30 19:03

Special Report

Cape Town - Parliament's health portfolio committee has welcomed Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's intention to introduce sex education at primary school level.

There appeared to be an increase in teenage pregnancies, committee chairperson Began Goqwana said in a statement.

To remedy this situation, society needed to "relook at their morals and question why young children were engaging in sexual activities".

"The increase in teenage pregnancies shows that these young children are not only engaging in sexual activities, but are doing it without protection and having sexual education [in] primary schools might save the situation," he said.

The committee also urged all South Africans to ensure that they knew their HIV status as the country geared up to mark World Aids Day on Thursday.

The health department recently released the national HIV prevalence survey results from 2010.

These showed an increase in prevalence among older women, most noticeably in the 45 to 49 year age group.

If the country wanted to reach the millennium development goal of halving the HIV infection rate by 2014, more needed to be done, Goqwana said.

It was important for citizens to know their HIV status so that they could get the necessary help should they be infected.

Even though strides had been made to fight stigmatisation, it was still a reality for HIV-infected people.

"As long as we still stigmatise HIV, people will run away from being tested and we as legislators need to be the leaders and pioneers in de-stigmatising HIV," he said.

- SAPA

Read more on:    aaron motsoaledi  |  hiv aids  |  youth  |  health
NEXT ON NEWS24X

Read News24’s Comments Policy

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Comment on this story
21 comments
Add your comment
Comment 0 characters remaining
 

Inside News24

 

Latest comment in South Africa

Jaco Vorster says... No Elliot, you're ignorant of human nature, majority of people prefer socialising with people of the same culture, language or race, and what is a non-racial society are you talking of the ' Nelson Mandela utopian fantasy', I'm sorry but this goes against human nature, the best we can do is respect each others rights and freedoms. Read the article...

 
Traffic
Lottery
 
  • Thursday Citrusdal - 16:22 PM
    Road name: N7
    ROADWORKS - stop / go controls in operation between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam (until 2014)
  • Monday Ventersburg - 05:24 AM
    Road name: N1
    ROADWORKS - construction works are underway with a deviation in operation just north of the town centre
 
More traffic reports...
 

Jobs [change area]

Property [change area]

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Winchester Mansions

Spend 3 nights at Winchester Mansions from R3 330 per person sharing and pay for 2 nights. Includes accommodation, return flights, car rental and Local Travel Insurance.

Book now!

Kalahari.com - shop online today

Sylvia Day’s Entwined with You

Gideon and Eva’s story continues in the powerfully sensual third novel in the international bestselling crossfire series. Pre-order your copy now!

Own the moments on DVD and Blu-ray

Super hot 2 for R99 DVD and Blu-ray offers - own your favourite moments. Shop now!

Games, sensational simulator savings – save up to 25%

Don’t miss out on this awesome special, fly planes, be in charge of the police force in the biggest cities and more. Hurry, offer valid while stocks last and for a limited time period. Buy now!

Sizzling hot Weber offer!

57cm compact braai + FREE cover + FREE fish braai for R1299.95. While stocks last. Check it out now.

Homeware clearance sale – save up to R1000

A deal doesn’t get much sweeter, save up to R1000 on selected appliances and homeware products. Offer valid while stocks last. Shop now!

OLX Free Classifieds [change area]

Blackberry z10 (1 day old)

For Sale, Cell Phones - Accessories in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 13

Urgent Sale

Vehicles, Motorcycles - Scooters in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 13

Aupairs

Jobs, Au pairs & nannies in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date May 12

BlackBerry Torch 9800

Universal search Looking for something? Scan your folders, apps, Internet, email...

From R3049.00

I'm shopping for:

Horoscopes
Aquarius
Aquarius

It does not matter how many more times you talk to that person about money related things, it is still going to fall on deaf ears....read more

There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.
 
English
Afrikaans
isiZulu

Hello 

Create Profile

Creating your profile will enable you to submit photos and stories to get published on News24.


Please provide a username for your profile page:

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

Settings

Location Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to take affect.








Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.