ISLAMABAD: Investing in the world's 1.2 billion adolescents aged “between“ 10-19 can break entrenched cycles of poverty and inequity, said United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) in its report released on Friday.
The finding of the report on state of the world's children entitled `Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity' revealed that strong investments during the last two decades have resulted in enormous gains for young children up to the age of 10.
More than seventy million adolescents of lower secondary age are currently out of school, and on a global level girls still lag behind boys in secondary school participation, said a UNICEF news release received here.
Without education, adolescents cannot develop the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the risks of exploitation, abuse and violence that are at height during the second decade of life.
"Adolescence is a pivot point, an opportunity to consolidate the gains we have made in early childhood or risk seeing those gains wiped out," said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director.
She said, "We need to focus more attention now on reaching adolescents, especially adolescent girls, investing in education, health and other measures to engage them in the process of improving their own lives."
Adolescence is a critically important age. It is during this second decade of life that inequities and poverty manifest starkly.
Young people who are poor or marginalized are less likely to make the transition to secondary education during adolescence, and they are more likely to experience exploitation, abuse and violence such as domestic labour and child marriage - especially if they are girls, the report said.
In the developing world, (excluding China), the poorest adolescent girls are roughly three times as likely to be married before the age of 18 than their peers in the richest quintile of households.
Girls who marry early are most at risk in being caught up in a negative cycle of premature child-bearing, high rates of maternal mortality and child under nutrition.
Girls also experience higher rates of domestic and or sexual violence than boys, and are more susceptible to the risk of HIV infections.
The vast majority of today's adolescents (88 per cent) live in developing countries. Many face a unique set of challenges. Although adolescents around the world are generally healthier today than in the past, many health risks remain significant, including injuries, eating disorders, substance abuse and mental health issues; it is estimated that around one in every five adolescents suffers from a mental health or behavioural problem.
In many countries large teenage populations are a unique demographic asset that is often overlooked.
The report suggested that by investing in adolescent education and training, countries can reap a large and productive workforce, contributing significantly to the growth of national economies.
Adolescents face numerous global challenges both today and in the future, among them the current bout of economic turmoil, climate change and environmental degradation, explosive urbanization and migration, aging societies, the rising costs of healthcare, and escalating humanitarian crises.
"Millions of young people around the world are waiting for a greater action by all of us. Giving all young people the tools they need to improve their own lives will foster a generation of economically-independent citizens who are fully engaged in civic life and able to actively contribute to their communities," the Executive Director UNICEF said.
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