Swaziland's King Mswati III to pay girls $18 a month to remain virgins.

Swaziland's King Mswati III announced on Thursday that he will use some of the internationally donated HIV/AIDS prevention funds to offer teenage girls $18 a month to hold onto their virginity in an effort to curb the high rate of infection plaguing the small country, where the average citizen lives only to age 49.

But critics claim the flamboyant ruler, who already has 15 wives, is trying to ensure any future brides are disease-free. As part of Swazi custom, King Mswati III, 46, is permitted to choose a new bride every year.

A health care worker in the city of Manzini, said 'The government will pay girls the allowances so they will have money to purchase necessities and can turn down money offered to them for sex.'

HIV transmission rates in Swaziland currently stand at 26 per cent, one of the highest in the world.The highest rate of infection is in women aged 18 to 24 who often exchange sexual favors for money and gifts from "sugar daddies" -- older men who usually have multiple sexual partners.

But the girls say the money is not enough to stop them from accepting gifts and money in exchange for sex.

Thandi Tfwala, 17, said: 'A girl could get $18 for just one sex act. You don't know Swazi girls. If they don't get more money, they will keep on doing what they do now. Our king will have to go to Cape Town for his brides.'

According to the WorldBank 70% of Swazis lives in abject poverty.