A clinical officer at Gakoe has said that denying the youth contraceptives, while preaching abstinence, may not prevent them from engaging in premarital sex or contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Titus Mathu says it is documented through research that adolescents become sexually active as early as age 10, particularly girls, adding that society should appreciate that the often hyped abstinence as a form of protection from HIV and AIDS and unwanted pregnancies is not a panacea to the problem.
Speaking on Wednesday at Gakoe during a free HIV and Aids testing for the youths, the officer challenged moralists saying denying school children right to condoms was an ill-advised option.
"Allowing adolescents the right to sexual education through legislation is the best way for a society that suffers unwanted pregnancies and high AIDS prevalence," he observed.
"The future becomes bleak when girls without income become pregnant and abandon education and there are numerous risks of unsafe abortions," he added.
Mathu noted that when children are counseled and provided with information on sexual health, including contraceptives, they are better placed to make informed choices rather than when they are left to grope in the dark on their own.
The officer noted that reproductive health education in the rural areas was lacking an issue he said was facilitating youngsters to engage in pre-marital sex adding that the menace has led to high school dropouts and early pregnancies.
He advised youths to avoid sexual intercourse without use of contraceptives citing that this would reduce chances of them getting infected with the act related diseases.
Mathu urged the church, elders and the society at large to establish lobby campaigns that would steer education on better use of contraceptives.