(Jamaica Observer) - A ministry of health official on Friday emphasised the need to teach children about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from an early age, quoting statistics higlighting the risky sexual behaviour of children under age 14.

The results of one study – which was not identified – showed children under 14 having up to six sex partners, while nearly half of the sexually active boys did not use a condom on their most recent sexual encounters.

“Children are never too young to learn about HIV, not when they comprise one of the groups that are most affected by the disease,” senior medical officer in the Ministry of Health’s National HIV/STI Programme Dr Kevin Harvey said on Friday.

Dr Harvey said in a study of 3,000 in-school children aged 10 to 14 years old, 12 per cent were sexually active. Of the sexually active children, 56 per cent had had two or more sex partners.

“Eighteen per cent of those studied reported that they had had at least six partners, and these were children between the ages of 10 and 14 years old,” Dr Harvey emphasised.

He said further that, 48 per cent of the sexually active males in the study reported “no condom use at the last sex”.

the study were forced to have sex on their first sexual encounter.

The senior medical officer was speaking at the final of the Scotiabank National Primary Schools HIV and AIDS debating competition at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

Meanwhile, Dr Harvey said data from the 2006 youth risk and behaviour resilience survey conducted among 1,370 participants islandwide aged 15 to 19 years old, showed that 59 per cent reported having sex at least once.

Of those with sex experience, four per cent said their first sexual encounter was unwanted, “either it was forced or they disagreed but did not say anything”.