The Right To Information

Sex education, HIV/AIDS and drug prevention

Two boys in La Paz, Bolivia.

When young children and adolescents were asked how much they knew about these subjects, about a third of them (representing approximately 33 million children in the region) claim to have little or no information. This was highest in Caribbean and Andean countries and in all cases, the lower income earning segments, rural inhabitants, blacks, and indigenous peoples reported higher levels of feeling uninformed.

Click below to view the responses to the questions related to this issue:

• With respect to…I feel…informed (total) [view]
• Regarding…I feel…(by region) [view]

How to prevent aids infection

The practices which were spontaneously mentioned by children regarding HIV/AIDS prevention included:

• Using a condom (62%), an answer given in higher proportions in Brazil and the Southern Cone.
• Having a single partner (23%), mentioned more often in the Caribbean, Central America and the Andean Area.
• Significantly, eight per cent mentioned "not going near an infected person," with higher percentages found in Central America and the Andean countries.

Click below to view the responses to the questions related to this issue:

• I order to avoid being infected by HIV/AIDS, you have to… (total) [view]

News and current affairs

Respondents were asked about the happiest and the saddest news they had heard recently. The saddest news most frequently related to natural disasters (24%), with other responses including hunger, war, child abuse, delinquency, and violence. The kinds of favourable news heard were varied, but around 15% couldn't mention any happy news at all, with higher figures reported in the Southern Cone.

Click below to view the responses to the questions related to this issue:

• The saddest news I have heard recently is… (total) [view]
• The happiest news I have heard recently is…(total) [view]

This information is provided as a contribution to discussion on important issues affecting children. UNICEF Regional offices conducted the polls, analysis and interpretations of the findings. For more information, please contact the regional poll contact person directly.