Coverage and Cost Issues

Coverage and Cost Issues
Singh et al (2005) suggest that, in some countries, such a high proportion of young people do not attend school
that school-based sex, relationships and HIV education, when it exists at all, is available to only a minority of young
people. However, 60-75% of 10-14-year-olds in sub-Saharan Africa are currently attending school. Furthermore,
school attendance appears to be a protective factor in itself in relation to young people’s sexual health. For example,
levels of contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa increase with years of education, and attendance in school is associated
with less sexual activity. However, many young people, particularly girls, do not progress beyond primary
school and for girls there is a rapid decline in school attendance after the age of 15.54
According to the 2007 report of the Global HIV Prevention Working Group, globally, half or more of school attendees
receive no school-based HIV education. Five of fi fteen countries reporting to UNAIDS in 2006 said HIV education
coverage in schools was below 15%. In all eighteen countries in which standardised health surveys were administered
between 2001 and 2005, fewer than 50% of young people (15-24) had accurate knowledge about HIV.