STI's and Teenage Pregnancy in the Dominican Republic

Did you know that, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "The Caribbean region has the second highest rate of HIV in the world outside of sub-Saharan Africa, with a regional HIV prevalence rate of 1%". This number can reach as high as 12% for the area's most vulnerable populations, such as sex workers and displaced Haitians. "Among the many countries in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has one of the highest rates of HIV infection." 

To add to the sexual health crisis, teenage pregnancy rates have been rising in the Dominican Republic for over a decade. According the the Pulitzer Center, 1 in 10 girls between the ages of 13 and 19 became pregnant at some point in 2013. This number has barely improved in the past 5 years, due to a variety of factors like poverty, cultural misunderstandings, and the lack of a proper sexual health education.

Dominica Rosario has a necessary understanding of how dangerous it can be to be an uneducated teenager in the Dominican Republic. That's why she has made concerted efforts every year since the DSO's opening to teach her students about safe sex and the dangers of HIV and other STI's. Often times she'll have visiting volunteers act as guest lecturers to provide more perspective on these issues—perspective that her students could only hope for if it weren't for the DSO's private education format. This is just one example of the countless ways that Dominica hopes to not only protect her students, but also to better the Dominican community through the power of education.