Teens and HIV

HIV/AIDS is impacting our youth at an alarming rate. Although African Americans represent only 16 percent of U.S. teens, they represented 69 percent of all new AIDS cases reported among teens in 2005. Dr. Helen Gayle, president of CARE, said, "There is a lack of youth tailored prevention programs that relate to the youth culture." More teens are sexually active than even their parents want to admit. According to the 2007 CDC'S Youth Risk Behavioral Survey 66.5 percent of high school students have engaged in sexual intercourse. The survey also reports that 16.3 percent of teens had sex before the age of 13.

The United States has received a fair amount of criticism for pushing its abstinence-only program, even though most studies question its effectiveness. What many fail to realize is that all HIV prevention education programs includes abstinence information. While I agree that sexual health education should start at home, unfortunately, and especially with for the kids most at risk, it ain't happening. Many of the children most at risk live in chaotic situations where survival takes precedence. It's time that we stop pontificating and start demanding more funding for youth-oriented sexual health prevention programs.