Adolescents' health at a tipping point - Action needed to address rising risks
A new report by the second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing , with contributions from Karolinska Institute, shows that adolescents' health globally is at a tipping point. Without targeted action, at least half of the world's adolescents will be at risk of poor health by 2030.
By 2030, there will still be over one billion of the world’s adolescents (aged 10-24 years) living in countries where preventable and treatable health problems like HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, unsafe sex, depression, poor nutrition and injury collectively threaten the health and wellbeing. This is suggested by new analysis from the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing, to which researchers at the Department of Global Public Health have contributed.
According to the report, over one billion adolescents will live in countries where they are at risk of experiencing poor health across many indicators, including mental health and overweight, if no targeted actions are taken before 2030. The study, published in The Lancet, shows that progress in adolescent health and wellbeing over the past decade has been mixed and uneven.
"While global rates of smoking and alcohol use are declining, and educational participation, especially among young women are increasing, obesity- related diseases and mental health challenges are rising in all regions," says Mariam Claeson at the Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet.
The second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing highlights that today's adolescents, the first generation to grow up under harsher climate conditions and the pervasive presence of digital technologies, disproportionately face emerging global health threats. Adolescents in low- and middle-income countries represent over a quarter of the population and bear a disproportionate share of the global disease burden (9.1%) - yet receive just 2.4% of global development aid.
"Adolescents and youth from over 36 countries were central to the Commission. They call for young people to claim their right to be involved in shaping policies, in research, and in advancing solutions that directly affect their lives," adds Olivia Biermann, at the Department of Global Public health, Karolinska Institutet.
The study underscores the need for adolescents to be involved in shaping the political actions that affect their health and well-being. Researchers at Karolinska Institute hope that these insights will lead to concrete actions to improve adolescents' health globally.
Publication
A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing