Fiji has high prevalence of STIs

The Ministry of Health has revealed that Fiji has a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies and one of the risk factors include unsafe sex.

Director of Women, Arieta Moceica said according to the Health Ministry statistics, four of the girls who gave birth last year were aged 10 to 14 years.

A total of 57 teenage pregnancy cases were recorded last year.

Just for the first three months of this year, 36 cases of teenage pregnancy have been recorded.

10 cases were reported from the Northern Division.

While opening the Sexual Reproductive Health Training For Family Planning Agents Workshop, Moceica highlighted the message preached through government and NGOs that “women’s bodies are no longer just for the pleasure of men and women have a right to say no to unwanted sex and to negotiate safe sex and decide on the number and spacing of their children”.

It was also revealed that out of the 493 people living with HIV/AIDS registered in the past four years, 85% of them contracted the disease through heterosexual sex while 2.5% were transmitted through male to male sex.

Issues such as importance of family planning, HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections, unplanned pregnancy, suicide, gender based violence and abuse of alcohol and drugs will be discussed during the three day workshop.

Women leaders from communities who operate Women Resource Centres around Fiji are participants of the three-day workshop and they will go back with skills and knowledge which they will share with the women and youth in their communities.