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news :: Articles :: U.N. youth report is a 'wake-up call' by CNN |
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This article is somewhat dated, but the stats are relevant...check it out... http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/08/un.report/index.html Poverty, early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV/AIDS
among adolescents are a threat to development and must be addressed as
part of the war on poverty, according to the U.N. The State of the World report released Wednesday said a fifth of the
world's population was between the ages of 10 and 19 so it was important
for societies to invest in programs that fight these trends. "This report is a wake-up call," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, which prepared the report,
entitled "Making 1 Billion Count: Investing in Adolescents' Health
and Rights." "It is a wake-up call to listen to young people and acknowledge
their needs. It is a wake-up call to increase funding and expand information
and services to young people. It is a wake-up call to support them so
that they can lead healthy, productive and dignified lives," she
said. Defined as people between the ages of 10 and 19, adolescents, more than
1.2 billion of the world's population, must be "given skills, opportunities
and a real say in development plans," the report said. The report said half of them were poor and 25 percent live in "extreme
poverty, on less than $1 a day." About 82 million girls between 10 and 17 will marry, a development that
disrupts their education. About 14 million teens, married and unmarried
give birth each year, with many of them getting unsafe abortions and getting
pregancy-related illnesses. "Millions of girls in poor countries still get married and give
birth in their teens, interrupting their education and endangering their
health. For many other girls and boys, the trend is toward later marriage
but greater exposure to the risks of unprotected sexual activity. "All, whether rich or poor, married or not, urban or rural, in school
or out, have a right to information and services to safeguard their sexual
and reproductive health. Girls and young women need better protection
against discrimination, coercion and gender-based violence." The report said that around the world "innovative programs are teaching
adolescents about reproductive health and showing how relevant health
services can be made more "youth-friendly" to increase their
use." It said laws and policies were being developed "to give
greater attention to adolescents' needs and rights." Not pursuing such programs to help adolescents "will perpetuate
poverty, inequality, unsustainable population growth and HIV/AIDS."
Selling sex Obaid said there was "clear evidence from Africa, Asia and Latin
America that well-designed informaton and education programs do lead to
safer, healthier behavior." "Actions to ensure these human rights can have tremendous practical
benefits, empowering individuals, promoting gender equality, stemming
the HIV/AIDS pandemic, reinforcing an uneven global trend towards smaller
families, reducing poverty and improving prospects for economic progress."
The report said investments in health and education would help countries
in the long run. "For instance, seven Caribbean region countries would save around
$235 on average each year in direct and economic costs for each adolescent
birth delayed. "The return on preventing more HIV infection among young people
is even higher, in terms of avoiding the costs of arrested development,
lost agricultrual output, excess training to provide for personnel losses,
health facility overloads, treatment (where available) and care, among
other factors. "The econmic benefit of a single averted HIV/AIDS infection is estimated
at $34,600 for a poor country with annual per capital earnings of $1,000."
HIV/AIDS is spreading fastest, the report said, among youths in sub-Saharan
Africa, where about 8.6 million youths are infected -- 62 percent of them
female. South Asia follows, with 1.1 million youths infected -- 62 percent
of them female. The report said poverty was a factor in the spread of HIV because some
poor girls sell sex for money for school fees or to help their families.
Talking about sex is taboo in many countries so many young people do
not know enough about the virus that causes AIDS to protect themselves.
In Somalia, for example, only 26 percent of adolescent girls had heard
of it and just one percent knew how to protect themselves. 
2004 1-42 Online |