The World Health Organisation (WHO) Office for Europe has raised concerns over a decline in condom use among adolescents, highlighting potential risks of infection and unplanned pregnancies across a broad range of countries, from Canada to Central Asia.
This issue was detailed in WHO Europe’s latest report on health behavior in school-age children, which analyzed data from nearly a quarter million 15-year-olds in 42 countries between 2014 and 2022.
READ ALSO: WHO seeks ceasefire in Gaza
Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s Europe regional director, noted in the report’s preface, “While results varied widely across the countries and regions, the most important observed trend since the 2014 survey is of declines in some countries and regions in condom use among sexually active 15-year-olds.”
He described the results as “dismaying” but “not surprising,” attributing the decline to inadequate sex education in many countries. The WHO and the report’s authors have called on policymakers to enhance sex education programs.
Dr. Kluge further emphasized, “In countries where age-appropriate sexuality education is available, it has increasingly come under attack in recent years on the false premise that it encourages sexual behavior.”
The report found a decrease in condom use among sexually active teens: the percentage of boys using condoms dropped to 61% in 2022 from 70% in 2014, while for girls, it fell to 57% from 63%. Despite these declines, the proportion of teens reporting sexual activity remained relatively stable since 2014, with about 20% of boys and 15% of girls at age 15 reporting having had sex. For boys, this is a slight decrease from 2018, when 25% reported having had intercourse.
Additional findings show that teens from lower-affluence families were more likely to report not using condoms, with a third of them doing so compared to a quarter among their wealthier peers.
The report also indicated significant regional variations in condom use: the lowest rate among girls was in Albania at 24%, and the highest was in Serbia at 81%. For boys, Sweden had the lowest rate at 43%, while Switzerland had the highest at 77%.
