Higher STD rates boost condom spurt in Montgomery Co. schools

ROCKVILLE, MD – As STD rates increase at an alarming rate, some Montgomery County public school officials have launched a controversial call for the district to offer free condoms to students in all high schools.

The pressure for more resources in sexual health reflects recent data from the Centers for Disease Control, which show that rates of sexually transmitted infections have continued to increase for four consecutive years. In the study, discussed at a national conference on STD prevention in August in Washington, the CDC found that from 2013 to 2017, cases of syphilis almost doubled, those in gonorrhea increased 67% and those of chlamydia.

The district first announced that it would test a pilot program offering free condoms to high school students in Gaithersburg, Northwood, Watkins Mills and Wheaton. Later, a memorandum from school board member Jill Ortman-Fouse and county counselor George Leventhal implored the district to immediately extend the program to all high schools in the district while studying the program's effectiveness in colleges.

"Studies have shown that when condoms are provided at the same time as STI prevention education, they result in a decrease in sexual activity and, more generally, positive health effects, in particular. especially in high-risk groups "memo lit.

The Washington Post reports that nearby Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties do not offer condoms, but Prince William students can purchase condoms at four county high school clinics. Alexandria, Virginia, offers birth control at a T.C. Williams High School clinic

The Post, citing federal data, reported that today's teens are giving up a higher condom rate than students in 2015. In Maryland, 43% of students said they did not use a condom in 2017, compared to 39% two years ago.

In 2013, the WTOP reports that DC schools have initiated a program to train students to become "peer educators". Since then, 300 students have participated in a webinar, passed a test, and have become certified educators.

Michael Kharfen, Senior Deputy Director of HIV / Hepatitis / STD / TB Administration in the Department of Health at the University of California, told WTOP that these students had distributed more than 300,000 condoms and educated their peers on the subject. sexual health.

>>> Read the entire memo here.

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