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A Review of Literature and Projects 2005
all the women interviewed reported that
they had heard of family planning and
were able to name at least three
contraceptive methods. Adolescents
aged 15-19 years knew less than young
people aged 20-24 years. Another study
in 1998 (see Table 2) showed that
unmarried adolescents’ knowledge on
various aspects of sexual and
reproductive health was variable.
Generally, girls knew more than boys
about oral contraception
(66.7% compared with 57.1%) but they
were equal in terms of awareness on
condoms. Both had a poor
understanding of the whole reproductive
process, especially pregnancy.
Knowledge on HIV/AIDS was more
prevalent than on STI, possibly due to
the extensive media coverage of HIV/
AIDS, which could also explain the
higher prevalence of knowledge on
condoms among both sexes.
Table 3 illustrates that young people talk
to mothers, teachers and friends about
equally regarding puberty changes,
pregnancy and contraception. However
for male-female and sexual relationships,
most of them talk with friends rather
than mothers and teachers.
Table 2: Percentage of respondents with correct responses on reproductive anatomy and physiology and who had
heard of contraception, STI and HIV/AIDS, by gender
Knowledge
Male reproductive anatomy
Female reproductive anatomy
Reproductive physiology – foetal development
Reproductive physiology – birth canal
Pregnancy – through sexual intercourse
Pregnancy – most likely at mid-cycle
Contraception – condoms
Contraception – pills
STI – ever heard of
AIDS - ever heard of
HIV Transmission – random sex
HIV Transmission – sharing needles
Boys
20.9
25.3
47.8
36.0
67.7
57.1
Sex
85.3
18.7
65.3
98.1
95.6
96.5
Girls
10.6
23.3
61.0
44.6
63.3
66.7
Source: National study on reproductive health and sexuality of adolescents, 1994/1995. NPFDB, 1998.
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