"Access to Information and Contraception Will Define Quality of Life For Generations to Come"
"The decisions young people make now regarding their sexual and reproductive health�the timing and size of their families�will be the single most important factor on world population over the next century," said Advocates for Youth President James Wagoner."
Global: Worldwide, the majority of men and women, married and unmarried, become sexually active during adolescence. (The Second Decade: Improving Adolescent Health and Development, Geneva: World Health Organization, 1998).
US: By age 20, 84% of all U.S. males and 72% of all U.S. females have had sexual intercourse. Most young people begin having sex in their mid-to-late teens. (Changes in Sexual Behavior and Condom Use Among Teenaged Males: 1998 to 1995, American Journal of Public Health, 88, June 1998).
US: Each year, almost 1 million American teens - 10% of all women aged 15-19 and 19% of those who have had sexual intercourse - become pregnant. (Teenage pregnancy: Overall Trends and State-by-State Information, New York: AGI, 1999).
Global: Globally, each year 1 of every 20 adolescents gets a STD. (The Second Decade).
Global: Five young people in the world will contract HIV/AIDS every minute of every day. This means 2.63 million young people every year. (AIDS Epidemic Update, UNAIDS, December 1998)
US: Two young people in the United States are infected with HIV every hour of every day. (Youth and HIV/AIDS: An American Agenda, Office of National AIDS Policy, 1996)
SOURCE: Advocates for Youth
(Internet: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/news/press/100899.htm)
