AEGiS-AFROL: 91% of young Cape Verdean males have high-risk sex

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

91% of young Cape Verdean males have high-risk sex

A Semana / afrol News - October 2, 2006

Some 90 percent of Cape Verdean males between the ages of 15 and 24 engaged in high-risk sexual acts - in other words, unprotected intercourse - in the past year. Some 70 percent of women in the same age range also practiced unsafe sex in the past twelve months.

The data comes from the Second Reproductive Health Inquiry, the results of which will be publicized tomorrow by the Cape Verdean National Statistics Institute (INE) and the Ministry of Health.

Among other information, the inquiry shows that the condom use rate among the population in general stands at approximately 45.8 percent for women and 72.3 percent for men.

The average age at which Cape Verdeans begin engaging in sexual activity is 17 for males and 17.3 for females, while the HIV prevalence rate is as low as 0.52 percent.

During the presentation of the results of the inquiry in an event to be presided over by Minister of Health Bas lio Ramos and Minister of Finances Cristina Duarte, participants will discuss and analyse Cape Verde's gains in the realm of reproductive health, the HIV-AIDS situation over the past several years, fertility and the child mortality rate in the country.

The event, which will take place at 9:00 am tomorrow in Praia's National Library, will be attended by representatives of the Coordination Committee for the Fight Against AIDS (CCS-Sida), the Portuguese Cooperation Agency, Agostinho Neto Hospital and the United Nations Office in Cape Verde, among others.

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