As many as 28 per cent of South African schoolgirls are HIV positive, according to figures from the country's health minister reported by local media.
This compares with statistics showing only 4 per cent of young boys are infected with the virus in the country.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the data "destroyed [his] soul" and he blamed a culture of "sugar daddies" for the statistics.
"It is clear that it is not young boys who are sleeping with these girls. It is old men," The Sowetan quotes him as saying.
"We must take a stand against sugar daddies because they are destroying our children."
Motsoaledi also revealed that 94,000 South African schoolgirls fell pregnant in 2011, some aged as young as 10.
South Africa has one of the world's highest HIV/AIDS infection rates, although the number of cases resulting in death is in sharp decline.
Official figures show that South Africa has six million people living with HIV, in a population of 50 million.
The country has the largest anti-retroviral programme in the world, serving 1.7 million.
The health department recently introduced measures to curb the spread of HIV among school children, introducing voluntary testing and suggesting condom distribution at schools.
