Staff Reporter
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane warned students entering tertiary institutions not to be drawn into transactional relationships with significantly older men offering material goods, saying the arrangements can carry serious health and social consequences.
Speaking during the provincial department’s KZN Health Chat programme, Simelane cautioned young people against being enticed by the “illusion” of a better lifestyle.
“Our children must be aware that these old men like to lure them with expensive mobile phones, hair extensions, alcohol and the good life. They must be careful and not succumb to that, because the consequences might be disastrous,” she said.
She said older men should not pursue teenage students.
“A 27 or 30-year-old man has no business dating an 18 or 19-year-old. Those people must go to their contemporaries.”
Simelane said inter-generational transactional relationships can increase risks of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and that unprotected sex can lead to unplanned and unwanted pregnancies that will disrupt studies and future prospects.
South Africa continues to face high levels of adolescent pregnancy. A UNFPA South Africa fact sheet published in late 2025 said that in 2024/25 the adolescent pregnancy rate (including live births and terminations of pregnancy in the public health sector) for girls aged 15–19 was 48.9 per 1,000, and that 117,195 girls aged 10–19 had a live birth in the public health sector in 2024/25.
Simelane said young women aged 15 to 24 remain highly vulnerable to HIV infection.
She said the department would soon issue a list of healthcare facilities in KwaZulu-Natal that provide Lenacapavir, an HIV prevention drug administered once every six months, as part of efforts to broaden prevention options.
Simelane urged students to remain focused on long-term goals and to resist short-term temptations.
“What is important for children to understand is that they are still at the beginning of their journey. They will eventually find jobs, earn a salary, and get to where they want to be. They’ll eventually be able to buy their own cars and homes, and travel the world if that’s what they want to do. It’s very important that our children understand this. They just need to accept that they’re still at the beginning of the journey. Those who are already there, it’s their time.”
Simelane also cautioned students against taking on adult responsibilities too early.
“We want to urge our children who are starting life at tertiary institutions to take care of themselves. When you’re still a student, you are nowhere near ready to bring a life into the world. You’re just not ready to start a family,” she said.
She encouraged those who have chosen abstinence to maintain it.
“The good thing is that we know there are those who undergo virginity testing. To those who are still virgins, those who have abstained, we are pleading with them to continue on that path until they’re ready. There’s no hurry, no urgency, to start getting involved in sexual intercourse.”
For students who are sexually active, she urged use of free reproductive health services and contraception available through campus and public clinics.
“Most tertiary institutions do have clinics. But over and above those clinics, we also have primary healthcare clinics that are closer to them, which they can visit. We have condoms and various contraceptive methods available free of charge,” she said.
INSIDE EDUCATION
