The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says its not surprised by a medical study in Solomon Islands that found young people have the highest count of sexually transmitted infections.
The Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association study of more than 1000 patients at one of its two Honiara clinics discovered people from 15 to 24 years more at risk of contracting an infection.
The advisor for sexually transmitted infection at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Dr Anna McNulty, says young people in any country seem to be the most likely to carry an infection.
"The general reasons would be that young people might be less likely to use condoms when they have sex. They maybe have shorter relationships or change partners more frequently, so they might have more sexual partners in a given time period."
Dr Anna McNulty says public awareness is imperative and she stresses Pacific countries should consider reducing the price of condoms or making them free to all ages.
