The health of the world’s 1.96 billion adolescents is at a critical tipping point.
A new Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing – co-authored by Professor Pete Azzopardi, Head of Adolescent Health and Wellbeing at The Kids Research Institute Australia and head of Global Adolescent Health at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute – warns that without targeted action, over a billion young people (aged 10-24) will still face major threats from preventable issues like HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, poor nutrition and mental health challenges.
While there have been declines in global rates of smoking and harmful alcohol use, and increased education participation (especially for young women), new threats are emerging. Obesity-related diseases and mental health disorders are rising in all regions.
Today’s adolescents are the first generation to grow up under harsher climate conditions and the pervasive presence of digital technologies, making them disproportionately vulnerable to these emerging global health threats.
Professor Azzopardi, who was one of the 44 Commissioners who prepared the report, explains the current crisis: “Global issues like climate change, global conflicts, rapid unplanned urbanisation, commercialisation of food systems and widening economic inequity have brought us to a critical tipping point.”
Another key finding was that current financial investment falls significantly short of addressing the immense scale of the challenge. Despite adolescents being 25% of the world population and this being a critical phase of development, adolescent health initiatives received only 2.4% of health development assistance between 2016 and 2021.
The Commission's analyses clearly show that investing in adolescence yields returns comparable to, or even better than, investments in younger children and adults. This highlights the "triple dividend" of investing in adolescent health: benefiting young people today, the adults they will become, and the next generation.
A lack of global and national leadership, governance, and accountability for adolescent health and wellbeing are major barriers to this essential investment.
As Professor Azzopardi emphasises, urgent action is needed: "To ensure a healthy future for over a billion young people, immediate and targeted funding and cross-sector collaboration is urgently needed. The time to act is now.”
Amongst key recommendations is the need for actions to be in meaningful partnership with young people. Adolescent engagement must be central to creating the social and community changes we need to foster a more just society and create a healthier planet with more opportunities for everyone
The Commission recommends a range of actions to start addressing the inequities. Explore the Commission's findings and recommendations in full here.