Frank parent/child sex talk urged

Namibian Parliamentarians have called on parents to challenge tradition by engaging in frank sex talk with their children. During an informal meeting held earlier this week, Minister of Education Nangolo Mbumba, said youths were living in an especially risky environment, with ever-increasing HIV/AIDS rates. "It is therefore more important than ever that we as parents support our children and equip them for the world that they are entering into," the local New Era newspaper quoted Mbumba as saying. The country's '2004 National HIV Sentinel Survey' estimated that at least 10 percent of young people aged between 15 and 19, were HIV-positive, with the figure almost doubled to 19 percent among 20 to 24 year-olds.