Emerging global issues threaten adolescent health and wellbeing
- Wits University
Decline in alcohol, tobacco use, and increased participation in education, but obesity and poor mental health loom large.
The challenges faced by the world’s adolescents are at risk of being exacerbated by emerging global issues including climate change, world conflicts and a rapid transition to a more digital world.
This according to the Second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing published today, which focuses on required actions to transform adolescent health and wellbeing.
Building on the 2016 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing which catalysed interest in adolescent health globally, the Second Commission aims to catalyse progress in adolescent health and wellbeing in today’s rapidly changing world.
Professor Nicole De Wet-Billings, Senior Director: Academic Affairs at Wits and whose PhD researched determinants of adolescent mortality in SA, co-authored A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing.
Adolescent health globally “at a tipping point”
Commission co-chair, Professor Sarah Baird, George Washington University (USA) says, “The health and wellbeing of adolescents worldwide is at a tipping point, with mixed progress observed over the past three decades. Whilst tobacco and alcohol use has declined and participation in secondary and tertiary education has increased, overweight and obesity have risen by up to eight-fold in some countries in Africa and Asia over the past three decades, and there is a growing burden of poor adolescent mental health globally. Additionally, the challenges faced by the world’s adolescents are at risk of being exacerbated by emerging global issues including climate change, world conflicts and a rapid transition to a more digital world.”
Focus on Africa
By 2030, there will still be over 1 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 of adolescents, according to the Commission.
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, the Commission found.
Furthermore, “the Countdown's plea to explicitly focus on sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 50% of the population is younger than 20 years, aligns with one of this [Second] Commission’s principles to include a focus on Africa given that nearly one in two of all adolescents will live there by the year 2100.”
The Countdown is the 2025 Countdown to 2030 for women's, children's and adolescents' health.
Commission co-chair, Professor Alex Ezeh, Drexel University (USA) says, “Africa’s share of global adolescents will increase from under 25% currently to more than 46% by 2100. Consequently, progress in improving the health and wellbeing of adolescents in Africa will increasingly determine progress in improving the health and wellbeing of adolescents globally. This calls for targeted attention to the needs of adolescents in Africa.”
Key take-outs from the Second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing
- New analysis indicates that without targeted action by 2030 at least half of the world’s adolescents (over 1 billion) will still live in countries where they are at risk of experiencing poor health across many indicators, including mental health and overweight.
- Over the past decade, progress in adolescent health and wellbeing has been mixed and uneven. While global rates of smoking and alcohol use have declined and educational participation – especially among young women – has increased, obesity-related diseases and mental health disorders are rising in all regions.
- 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.
Wits University alumna Dr Shakira Choonara, Lancet Youth Commissioner and Steering Group Member, says, “Young people are navigating a rapidly changing world, and through this Commission we’ve heard the diverse and alarming concerns adolescents have about their health and wellbeing. However, there are also opportunities—and we've seen firsthand and through the Commission findings how adolescents are already stepping up as active citizens and powerful agents of change, from leading advocacy and activism to co-designing policies that shape the future of human health and planetary health."