Sexual activity among school-going adolescents in the country has increased significantly over the past 12 years while condom use has declined.
This has raised concerns over growing exposure to HIV, sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.
The findings are contained in the 2025 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), which surveyed 3 410 learners aged between 13 and 17 from 39 schools across the country.
The survey was conducted using the World Health Organization’s standardised methodology in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the country’s second nationally representative Global School-based Student Health Survey, following the 2013 survey.
The survey found that 28.3% of learners aged 13 to 17 had sexual intercourse last year, up from 20.6% recorded in the 2013 survey. At the same time, condom use among sexually active learners fell from 62.4% in 2013 to 55.3% in 2025.
The findings mean that while more learners are reporting sexual experience, smaller proportions are reporting use of a condom during their most recent sexual encounter.
The survey also found that sexual activity is beginning at a relatively young age among those who are sexually active. Nearly half (46.3%) of learners who had engaged in sexual intercourse reported that their first sexual experience occurred before they turned 14. The proportion was substantially higher among boys, with 57.5% reporting that they had first had sex before 14 compared with 30.3% of girls.
Age differences were also evident as among sexually active learners aged 13 to 15, 75.7% reported having had their first sexual experience before the age of 14. Among sexually active learners aged 16 to 17, the proportion was 28.1%.
Overall, sexual experience was more common among boys, with 35.5% reporting that they had sexual intercourse compared with 22.4% of girls. Sexual activity also increased sharply with age, according to the report. Among learners aged 13 to 15, 21.3% reported having ever had sexual intercourse while the figure rose to 38.5% among those aged 16 to 17.
The survey further found that 13.6% of learners had sexual intercourse with two or more people during their lifetime. Boys recorded a considerably higher proportion at 20.2% compared with 8.1% among girls.
The findings point to increased sexual exposure among adolescents at the same time that one of the key protective measures against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is being used by fewer sexually active learners.
A further 9.8% reported using contraceptive pills. The Ministry of Health has recommended strengthening comprehensive and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education and ensuring that it is provided before adolescents begin engaging in behaviours that may expose them to health risks.
The ministry also recommends stronger links between schools and adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services.
Just over half of learners (51.8%) said they had discussed HIV/AIDS with their parents. However, only 40.6% said they had been taught in class to get tested for HIV.
MORE THAN HALF OF YOUNG DRINKERS STARTED BEFORE 14
More than half of learners who consume alcohol had their first drink before turning 14, with the latest national adolescent health survey pointing to early exposure to alcohol as a significant concern among school-going children.
The 2025 Global School-based Student Health Survey found that 23.6% of learners aged 13 to 17 were current alcohol users. The proportion was similar between boys and girls, with 24.5% of boys and 23% of girls reporting current alcohol use.
However, the age at which drinking begins raises a particular concern. The survey found that 57.6% of learners who drink alcohol had their first drink before the age of 14.
The findings also show that alcohol use becomes more severe as learners grow older. Alcohol intoxication more than doubled between the younger and older age groups, increasing from 14% among learners aged 13 to 15 to 33.6% among those aged 16 to 17.
Overall, 21.9% of learners reported that they had drunk alcohol to the point of drunkenness at some stage.
ONE IN FOUR LEARNERS CONSIDERED SUICIDE
One in four school-going adolescents in the country seriously considered attempting suicide while almost the same proportion reported having attempted suicide.
This has exposed what the latest national health survey describes as an urgent mental health concern among the country’s young people.
According to the findings, 25% of learners seriously considered attempting suicide, while 24.3% reported attempting suicide at least once.
The figures form part of a wider picture of deteriorating adolescent mental health, with the survey also finding that 17.3% of learners often or always felt lonely, while 14.3% reported having no close friends.
Girls emerged as particularly vulnerable to suicidal thoughts, with 29.7% reporting that they had seriously considered attempting suicide compared with 19.7% of boys. The gender difference was also reflected in reported suicide attempts, with 26.4% of girls saying they had attempted suicide compared with 21.8% of boys.
The findings are particularly concerning because the survey also points to significant gaps in the support systems available to adolescents. More than half of learners (54.2%) said they never or rarely had someone with whom they could talk about difficult problems.
The survey further found that 43.4% said their parents or guardians never or rarely understood their problems while 43.2% reported that their parents never or rarely knew how they spent their free time.
It also found that 45.6% of learners said their parents or guardians never or rarely checked whether they had completed their homework.
At school, only 29.4% of learners reported that most students were generally kind and helpful.
The mental health findings have also worsened considerably when compared with the country’s previous GSHS conducted in 2013. The proportion of learners who seriously considered suicide increased from 17.3% in 2013 to 25% in 2025, while reported suicide attempts increased from 17.2% to 24.3%.
Among learners surveyed, 14.5% said they often or always worried so much that they could not sleep, while loneliness was reported by 17.3%.
The survey also found that when suicide attempts occurred, some involved potentially lethal methods. Twenty-eight per cent of learners who reported attempting suicide said they had done so by ingesting substances or poisoning themselves.
The Ministry of Health’s recommendations include training teachers in mental health first aid and providing confidential counselling within schools. The ministry also recommends strengthening school health programmes so that mental health is addressed alongside other adolescent health risks.
