Sexual and Reproductive Health Week — get the facts

EDMONTON — Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Week runs until Friday, and Alberta Health Services (AHS) wants to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health and encourage all Albertans to get the facts.

It’s important to have access to accurate resources to get the right information on sexual and reproductive health, especially as sexually transmitted infections continue to rise in Alberta.

According to the Government of Alberta’s 2021 annual report for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, rates for gonorrhea, HIV and infectious syphilis increased compared to 2020:

• Gonorrhea: 5,010 cases, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to 2020.
• HIV: 242 cases, an increase of 25.4 per cent compared to 2020.
• Infectious syphilis: 3,209 cases, an increase of 27.6 per cent compared to 2020.
• Congenital syphilis (live and stillborn) per 100,000 live births have increased from 13.1 to 144.9 between 2017 and 2021.

Learning about sexual and reproductive health can:

• Decrease risk of sexually transmitted infections and HIV.
• Improve ideas about consent, healthy relationships and sexual health care.
• Create safer sex behaviours.
• Increase condom use, leading to fewer instances of unprotected sex.
• Reduce sexual and gender-based violence.
• Lower the risk of unintended pregnancy.

Albertans are encouraged to visit ahs.ca/srh to navigate sexual health services throughout the province, including programs, sexual health education and sexual assault response teams.

Parents and teachers can work together to share sexual and reproductive health information with children and youth.

Visit Teachingsexualhealth.ca for evidence-based resources, lesson plans, and tools to support conversations with children and youth.

Taking care of sexual and reproductive health is fundamental to well-being, quality of life and relationships. It's never too early or too late to talk to your child or learn more for yourself.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Our mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans. Our current focus is on reducing emergency department wait-times, improving EMS response times, increasing access to surgeries, and improving patient flow.