Youths are the most populous group of individuals in the world today; even more so when considering the fluid and often broad definition of the word, youths. Consequently, this group possesses the power to shape the future of every society where they exist as well as the world at large. The UN projects that the economic growth following youth empowerment, education and employment will be unprecedented as seen in some Asian countries.
To experience the dividends and benefits of youths through empowerment, education and employment, countries must invest in empowering programs, affordable education and employment opportunities to the advantage of their young people. According to the UN, there are approximately 1.8 billion young people in the world today, representing a bewildering amount of human potential. Unfortunately, too many of them are trapped in poverty, with limited opportunities to go to school, work or learn a skill to earn a decent living. It is deeply disheartening that the group with the highest potential, given their age, strength, brains, population and willingness is often presented with the least opportunities for personal growth and development. A fact to buttress this point is that over 74 million young people worldwide cannot find work.
Given the many benefits of investing in youths, every country needs to make it a national priority.

Youth empowerment is defined as the outcome by which youths- seen as change agents, acquire the skills to impact their own lives, the lives of other individuals as well as their communities or environment. An example of a youth empowerment program is the YES program which uses a three-pronged approach that effectively engages youth in work that challenges them to develop skills, gain critical awareness, and participate in opportunities that enable them to create change. In the context of YES, skill development is the process of strengthening youths so that they know how to effectively make decisions, positively interact with their peers, and act as community advocates or change agents. Critical awareness involves providing resources such as training and information that equip youths to better analyze issues that affect their lives and communities as well as strategize on ways to change them to their advantage. Opportunity means availing youth with platforms for engagement, decision-making and encouraging their active participation in creating community change

Youths desire and deserve better options and opportunities in life. To express this, many of them take risks by migrating, engaging in illegal businesses, sex trade or robbery in order to afford a decent life. The means by which youths are engaged today determines the prospects for future sustainable development. Taking advantage of the potential of youths as change agents requires involving and empowering them in development, education, employment, policies as well as supporting their participation at all levels. If youths in developing countries such as Nigeria are given the opportunity to realize their full potential, there would be significant economic gains. The more young people grow into well-educated adults, the more they are able to accelerate economic growth and development. It is estimated the African continent in general would add up to about $500 billion per year to its economy for as many as 30 years, if youths are given their rightful place.

What is participation/youth participation?

Participation is a fundamental human right- everyone deserves an opportunity to engage meaningfully in his or her community. It involves engaging and taking part in social, economic, financial and physical developmental activities that occur in a given community and society.  Active participation empowers young people and enables them to play vital roles in their personal development as well as in that of their communities. It also helps them to acquire vital life-skills, develop knowledge on human rights and promote positive community action. To effectively participate in any community, young people must be empowered and given the proper tools including information, education and accessibility. To ensure that youths participate in decision-making is a priority area of the UN agenda on youth.

How can youths participate and in what ways can they do so?

It is important to collectively and better understand what youth participation involves as well as how it can be implemented for youths of all ages. In any society, it is a well-known fact that youths are the major human resource for development and key agents for social change, economic growth and technological innovation. Youth participation can be strengthened by ensuring that youths are involved in every aspect and stage of activities including planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of instruments, strategies and programs. Additionally, youth participation can be improved through several approaches such as education, information sharing and capacity building. Using old and modern inclusive technology mediums such as short media messages and internet, youth-friendly information and resources can be developed by or with young people themselves. This gives them some sense of belonging and helps them understand their importance and relevance. When youths are involved in planning and decision-making, activities are more likely to be attractive, relevant and enjoyable for them. Involvement increases the efficiency, effectiveness of programs as well as their attendance, display good behavior, improved self-esteem and skill acquisition. It is also essential to involve every youth including youths with disabilities.

What are the benefits of youth participation?

To guarantee the perpetuation of youth participation, United Nations adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), an international strategy to more effectively address barriers, and increase opportunities for participation in the society. Subsequent WPAY resolutions deal with policies and programs that involve youth and promote their participation in social and economic development. Youth participation is important and has benefits for the young people themselves, the youth group and community as a whole. Young people become more confident and enthusiastic when they see that their views are being taken seriously and acted upon. Finally, youth participation strengthens personal and social development and promotes a more democratic society.

Gender parity can be defined as a numerical concept used to express gender equality. It is related to gender equality in that it’s used to express relative equality in terms of numbers and proportions of women and men or girls and boys. It is often calculated as the ratio of female-to-male values for a given indicator or factor. It can also be referred to as sex or gender ratio when males-to-females ratios are calculated. When compared to gender equality, gender parity describes the contribution and numerical representation of women and men in every dimension of life, including private and public sectors.
One of the major aims of gender parity is to increase the participation of women and lay a foundation for economic prosperity. Increasing the economic participation and advancement of women is essential to ensuring this strong foundation. This is because women account for about half the global labor supply and about 70% of global consumption demand. Ensuring and maintaining gender parity in educational and employment opportunities fosters faster and more inclusive growth because women are more likely to invest in the human capital of their families. Despite being near parity with men in health and education throughout much of the world, women still lag behind in economic participation and opportunity by about 20% in many societies.
Gender parity index (GPI) is a purely numeric value which gives information on the ratio of female to male values of a given indicator. Like every other ratio, the GPI value is obtained by a simple mathematical calculation of dividing the female value of an indicator by the male value of the same indicator using the given values of the indicator. The aim of GPI is to measure the progress towards gender parity in education participation and/or learning opportunities available for females in relation to those available to males. The significance and importance of GPI lies in the interpretation of the value obtained after the calculation. In general, when GPI value equals 1, it signifies parity or evenness between females and males; when GPI value is less than 1, it indicates disparity which favors the male gender while a GPI value greater than 1 indicates a disparity which favors the female gender. However, in some cases where the direction of the GPI interpretation ideally approach 0% (such as dropout and illiteracy rates), a GPI of less than 1 indicates a disparity which favors females while a value greater than 1 indicates a disparity which favors the males. One limitation of GPI is that it does not show whether improvement or lack of it is due to the performance of any of the gender groups. Furthermore, the interpretation of GPI requires trend analysis of the underlying indicators to make complete sense of it.
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, made the quoted statement below to illustrate the significance of Gender Parity…
“Gender parity at the United Nations is an urgent need and a personal priority. It’s a moral duty and an operational necessity. The meaningful inclusion of women in decision-making increases effectiveness and productivity, brings new perspectives and solutions to the table, unlocks greater resources, and strengthens efforts across all the three pillars of our work.”

Violence can be defined as a form of abuse which involves the intentional use of force or abuse of power, either through verbal threats or actual physical contact, against oneself, another person or a group. Violence and other forms of abuse are most commonly viewed as patterns or forms of behavior intended to establish and maintain control over a person or group of people, reflecting some level of power imbalance between the victim and the abuser. Most forms of violence are rooted in the many types of inequality which continue to exist and grow in societies. Acts of violence may take any of the following forms including Physical, Sexual, Emotional, Psychological, Spiritual, Cultural, Verbal and Financial abuse- resulting in injuries, poor mental health, disability or death. In their various forms, violence and abuse severely affect individual health and impact their well-being. Common victims of violence include oneself, spouse, family or household members, friend, opposition or foe, intimate or estranged partners, colleagues, individuals or groups. This illustrates that most violent offenders are familiar to their victims, however, acts of violence and abuse can also be committed by complete strangers. Violence may occur only once or frequently, escalating over a period of time.

Gender-based violence is any form of violence or abuse rooted in gender differences, disparities or inequalities including gender identity, expression or norms, unequal power relationships and perceived gender. It is sometimes referred to as “violence against women”, since most cases of gender-based violence are inflicted on women by men. Gender-based violence is a global problem, affecting one in every three women according to a 2013 data from World Health Organization (WHO). Gender-based violence is one of the most common human rights violations worldwide- surpassing social, economic and national boundaries. It refers to any act that is perpetrated against a person’s will including threats of violence and coercion. It can be physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual in nature. The consequences of gender-based violence are severe for its victims, yet it remains masked in a culture of silence and negligence. These victims suffer sexual and reproductive health problems, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, and even death.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and WHO work to consistently promote gender equality and women empowerment as well as to address the physical and emotional consequences of gender-based violence. Non-governmental organizations such as UNFPA and WHO mentioned above, offer programs that provide therapeutic assistance, psychological support, medical treatment and rape kits to survivors. These organizations also aim to promote the right of women and girls by empowering them to live free of different forms of violence and abuse.

Social Integration is defined as the process by which social minority groups including racial minorities, refugees and underprivileged persons move into the mainstream of societies. Social integration requires that these individuals become proficient in a national common language of the society, accept and abide by all the laws of the land as well as adopt and practice the set of values associated with that society. It ensures that individuals and groups unite in communications and actions, resulting in a common understanding of one another and the society at large. Social integration does not mean that people have to change who they are and become what they’re not. However, it means that they learn to accommodate, tolerate, accept and respect other groups in the society while identifying with the majority ethnicity as the common way of living. Social integration is a naturally occurring phenomenon which increases peace, unity and cohesiveness in a society, giving everyone a sense of belonging. The only detriment of social integration is that children and adolescents born in different racial societies may lose their original racial identity.

Economic integration, on the other hand, is an organized economic arrangement between regions and countries that often include the reduction or elimination of trade barriers as well as the coordination of financial and fiscal policies. The major purposes of economic integration are to reduce costs for both consumers and producers and to increase trade between regions and countries involved in the agreement. Generally, there are fewer barriers to trade and increased political and economic coordination between these regions. Benefits of economic integration include reduction in the cost of trade, increased employment opportunities and stronger political cooperation. Reduction in the cost of trade increases the availability and selection of goods and services which leads to greater purchasing power. Additionally, employment opportunities improve because liberalization of trade increases market expansion, technology sharing and cross-border investment flows. Finally, economic integration increases political cooperation among countries because it leads to stronger economic ties, which can potentially help in conflict resolution and greater stability. Irrespective of the above mentioned benefits, however, economic integration can occasionally lead to trade diversion, resulting in the deterioration of national sovereignty.

As seen in the preceding paragraphs, social and economic integration play unique and significant roles in increasing and maintaining unity within and amongst countries. These factors favor and improve globalization, the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples and countries- a major backbone of global civilization.

Right is an important issue as everyone has some basic human rights including adolescents. These rights often come with a corresponding responsibility to uphold the rights of others such that one person’s right doesn’t interfere with another’s. Knowing and understanding our rights as human beings is essential to preventing bulling and many forms of abuse. For adolescents specifically, reporting to an adult or appropriate authorities is a brilliant way to handle different forms of abuse.

Thefollowing are some basic adolescent rights, and the responsibilities that correspond to them:
• Right: To be cared for and protected by a family.
Responsibility: To care for and respect your family.
• Right: Freedom of speech.
Responsibility: Accord respect to what others say, even if not in agreement.
• Right: To food, shelter, and a healthy environment to live in.
Responsibility: To value and take care of these resources.
• Right: To health care.
Responsibility: To take care of one’s health, and protect oneself from disease.
• Right: To be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation.
Responsibility: To report any act of abuse to oneself or others
• Right: To education.
Responsibility: To make the most of the schooling.
• Right: To equality – this means that people shouldn’t treat adolescents differently based on things like sex or gender, disability, sexuality, race or culture.
Responsibility: To do the same for others, too.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) outlines the rights of adolescents and upholds them as the innate benefit of both girls and boys. UNICEF is guided by the CRC and mandated to invest in adolescents as rights-bearers and a marginalized population. The United Nations Joint Statement on adolescents emphasizes the understanding that healthy, educated and skilled adolescents will help build a better future. As the future of the society, adolescents represent a vital part of the population and their empowerment and protection has broad and significant impacts on their behaviours and the society at large. Adolescent girls have a right to education because girls who stay in school, marry later and delay childbearing- having healthier children and being able to earn better incomes that benefit themselves, their family, community and nations.

These past weeks we’ve deliberated on the topic, Adolescent health- discussing various aspects of their health including physical and sexual health. In this write-up, we’ll focus specifically on the sexual health of this group- particularly in the areas of sexual behaviour. Some negative sexual behaviors among adolescents include unprotected sex, sex experimentation and having multiple sexual partners. These behaviors in turn result in unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sex addictions.

Sexual health problem in adolescents is indeed a global matter because it affects all countries and races alike. Additionally, adolescents behave in similar predictable patterns irrespective of their origin or location. Consequently, this group constitute significant sexual disease burden globally. Adolescents engage in negative sexual behaviors for several reasons. First, they’re young, naïve and unable to make good judgment and decisions due to lack of understanding or experience. Secondly, many adolescents are irresponsible and careless because they’re not accountable for their actions and behaviours as their parents are still responsible for them. Thirdly, peer influence is a common reason why adolescents engage in sexual behaviors members of their group consider trendy. Finally, a study on the influence of genetic composition on adolescent behaviors reveals there are unique individual differences due to genes, among adolescents in how and when they become sexually active adults as well as the behaviors they adopt.

Sexual risk behaviors such as unprotected sex place adolescents at risk for HIV infection, other STDs and unwanted pregnancies. According to CDC, approximately 230,000 babies were born to adolescents in 2015. More so, 20 million new STDs are reported annually among adolescents, who also account for about 22% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States. Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS), which monitors health risk behaviors in adolescents showed low rates of testing for HIV, high rate of substance use preceding sexual intercourse, low rates of condom use during sex and multiple number of sexual partners.

To reduce sexual risk behaviours and associated problems among adolescents, there’s need for a global education about HIV and other STDs. This includes knowing and understanding their transmission and prevention, as well as which behaviors place individuals at greatest risk for infection. STDs awareness and education should be universally integrated into all forms of educational environments to reach this group.

Substance misuse or abuse is defined by World Health Organization as the harmful or dangerous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, illicit drugs and other substances. The use of these substances can lead to a medical condition known as dependence syndrome. Dependence syndrome refers to a cluster or variety of behavioural, cognitive, and physiological phenomena that develop following the repeated use of illicit substances and prescription drugs. Symptoms of this condition typically include: strong recurring desire to take psychoactive drugs, difficulty controlling use, persistent use irrespective of harmful consequences, prioritizing use at the detriment of other activities and obligations, increased tolerance, and occasionally, a physical withdrawal state.

Misuse of illicit drugs and other substances hinders the ability of adolescents to grow, develop and reach their full potential in life. In addition to being an exciting stage of life- filled with self-discoveries and youthful exuberance, many adolescents continue to mature and develop physically. They also become adventurous and experimental with drugs, trying out many new things which may compromise their health. This is why many unhealthy behaviors such as substance misuse are often started during adolescence and continue into adulthood, contributing to the global burden of addiction morbidity and mortality.

Drug or substance misuse in adolescents is on the rise and has become a global concern because it exposes them to dangers from the drug and associated risky or unhealthy behaviors. It is also likely to result in increased drug use in the future. Parents and guardians need to monitor this group and not overlook occasional instances of drug misuse and their significance. Substance misuse has long-term impacts on the developing brain of teenagers and may interfere with family, positive peer relationships, and school performance. The impairment of brain development and function due to drug use by adolescents may result in the present or subsequent development of substance use disorder in adulthood. It is therefore important to identify and intervene in drug use early.

National and global policies which favorably and positively influence the levels and patterns of substance use and consequent harm can significantly reduce the public health problems attributable to substance use. Additionally, interventions at the health care system level can support affected individuals towards health restoration, harm reduction and eventually, quitting substance use. There is need for a collaborative effort that engages multiple partners including government and non governmental agencies, community and international organizations to make recommendations on adolescent health, provide high quality age-appropriate health services and design adolescent focused substance misuse interventions. Given the age of adolescents, the school environment remains the best place to develop healthy behaviors since schools have direct contact with millions of them daily. Research also supports that school health programs reduce the prevalence of risky behaviors among young people as well as have a positive effect on academic performance.

Adolescent and School health: A Global Health MatterAccording to World Health Organization (WHO), adolescent health refers to the variety of strategies involved in preventing, identifying and treating teens and young people, as well as maintaining their health and well-being. Adolescent health and well-being encompasses the physical, emotional, social and metal health of adolescents that enable them participate fully in the family, school and community units. Adolescents consist of teenagers and young people, therefore, the term Adolescent Health is often used interchangeably with Youth Health.

WHO defines ‘Adolescents’ as individuals aged between 10-19 years, ‘Youth’ aged between 15-24 years and ‘Young People’ covers the age range of 10-24 years including all adolescents and youths. About 1.2 billion people, or 1 in 6 of the world’s population are adolescents, hence, it is important to understand that Adolescents are heterogeneous people who exist in various situations and possess different needs. The adolescent stage of human development is naturally accompanied with dramatic physical, sexual, psychological and social developmental changes, all occurring simultaneously. Consequently, this presents a critical period of information acquisition and decision making that ultimately increase risks to health and well-being. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is easier and more effective to acquire healthy behaviors during adolescence than trying to change unhealthy behaviors in adulthood.

Generally, adolescents are considered a healthy group as a result of high immunity of young people and absence of chronic diseases due to old age. However, many adolescents have died prematurely from accidents, substance abuse, drunkenness, suicide, violence, pregnancy related complications and other illnesses that are either preventable or treatable. Others are victims of hereditary diseases, long-term debilitating ill-health and disability. In addition, many serious diseases, illness or premature death later in adulthood have their origin in adolescence; for example, tobacco use in adolescence may lead to lung cancer in adult life; risky sexual behaviors may result in incurable, immune-compromising sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS; poor eating and exercise habits lead to obesity and other weight related illnesses; some mental health disorders (such as depression) in adulthood start by age 14, but most cases are undetected and untreated.

Adolescent health is important because illnesses can hinder their ability to grow, develop and reach their full potential in life. Adolescence is an exciting stage of life full of self-discoveries and youthful exuberance. Adolescent behaviors may be influenced at the individual, peer, family, school, community, and societal levels. At the start of this period, many adolescents begin to mature and develop physically. They also become adventurous, trying out many new things which may compromise their health. This is why most preventable health risk behaviors are often started during adolescence and continue into adulthood, contributing to the leading causes of death. Some of these risky behaviors include substance abuse, drunk driving, violence, unprotected sexual intercourse and other poor behaviors which are began within the adolescent age range. In 2015, an estimated 1.2 million adolescents died- over 3000 daily, mostly due to preventable or treatable causes. For this group, road traffic injuries, respiratory infections, suicide, complications from pregnancy and childbirth, diarrheal diseases, and drowning are the major causes of death. Among girls aged 15 to 19 years, there are 44 births per 1000 annually.

To improve the health of young people, many sectors of the society should contribute to adolescent health, safety, and well-being- a collaborative effort that engages multiple partners. Government agencies and International organizations such as WHO, CDC and United Nations initiate or participate in producing evidence-based guidelines to support health services and other sectors, making recommendations to governments on adolescent health, providing high quality, age-appropriate health services, documenting progress in adolescent health and development, designing adolescent focused interventions and raising awareness of health issues for young people among the general public and other interested stakeholders.

The school environment is considered the best place, to develop healthy behaviors since schools have direct contact with millions of students daily during the most critical years of their social, physical, and intellectual development- adolescence. Research has shown that school health programs reduce the prevalence of risky behaviors among young people as well as have a positive effect on academic performance. Consequently, schools play a major role in promoting the health and safety of young people as well as helping them establish lifelong healthy behaviors.

Adolescents are pre adults or teenagers who may no longer be considered to be children. This group consists of young people between the ages of 10 and 19 years, and are often thought of as a healthy group. Nevertheless, many adolescent deaths result from accidents, suicide, violence, pregnancy related complications and other illnesses that are either preventable or treatable.

Adolescenceis one of the most rapid phases of human development characterized by increased engagement of many young people in sexual risk behaviors that can result in unintended health outcomes. This increase in sexual risk behaviors is demonstrated by the following statistics from the United States Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC).
• 41% of adolescents have had sexual intercourse
• 30% had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 months, and, of these, 43% did not use a condom the last time they had sex and 14% did not use any method to prevent pregnancy
• 21% had drunk alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse
• Only 10% of students surveyed in the US have been tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Mostly adolescents accounted for an estimated 22% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2015
• Half of the nearly 20 million new STDs reported each year were among adolescents and young people, between the ages of 15 to 24
• Nearly 230,000 babies were born to adolescent girls aged 15–19 years in 2015

Adolescent health is an important topic because sexual risk behaviors are major public health concerns. These behaviors are the most common public health problem associated with this group, placing these teenagers at a high risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as well as unintended pregnancies.
To prevent or decrease sexual risk behaviors and related health problems among adolescents, schools and affiliated organizations should promote the adoption of lifelong attitudes and behaviors that support their health and safety. This includes health education, health promotion and appropriate reinforcement to adopt and sustain healthy choices and behaviour. CDC’srecommendation for routine medical care includes a HIV test, especially for sexually active adolescents and adults.

Abstinence from vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse remains the only 100% effective way to prevent HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy. Additionally, the accurate and consistent use of condoms can reduce the risk of STD transmission while birth control pills reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies only. However, no protective or control method besides abstinence is 100% effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD or pregnancy.

Programs and initiatives targeted towards adolescent sexual awareness include data collection and analysis, science-based guidance, funding to state and local departments of education and national nongovernmental organizations, research, evaluation and partnerships.