According to the report, more than 14 million adolescent girls give birth each year and a large proportion of these pregnancies are unwanted. The World Health Organization estimates that adolescent girls seek as many as 4.4 million abortions each year. Providing reproductive health information and services would reduce the number of teenage pregnancies, abortions and resulting health complications, and give girls and boys a better chance to succeed. In many countries, girls who become pregnant are not allowed to continue school. In Kenya alone, an estimated 10,000 girls leave school each year because of pregnancy, the report says.
Research refutes the widely held view that sex education promotes promiscuity.
In most cultures around the world, there is a sexual double standard. Girls are expected to refrain from sex and not talk about it, while boys are encouraged to experiment. Many young people of both sexes are ill-informed about sexual matters. Studies show that family life education should begin early to help young people through the years when they are beginning to be interested in sex, the report says. Worldwide experience has shown that programmes should be different for youth who are sexually active and those who are not, and should be as specific as possible.