Commentary
Mapping a Global Agenda for Adolescent Health

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Abstract

Major changes in health are underway in many low- and middle-income countries that are likely to bring greater focus on adolescents. This commentary, based on a 2009 London meeting, considers the need for strategic information for future global initiatives in adolescent health. Current coverage of adolescent health in global data collections is patchy. There is both the need and scope to extend existing collections into the adolescent years as well as achieve greater harmonization of measures between surveys. The development of a core set of global adolescent health indicators would aid this process. Other important tasks include adapting and testing interventions in low- and middle-income countries, growing research capacity in those settings, better communication of research from those countries, and building structures to implement future global initiatives. A global agenda needs more than good data, but sound information about adolescent health and its social and environmental determinants, will be important in both advocacy and practice.

Section snippets

Current global health perspectives

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent commitments made by 189 governments in the year 2000 to coordinate responses across health and other areas relevant to the elimination of poverty. The MDGs also provide an entry point for the consideration of adolescent health by designating targets particularly relevant to the youth. These include literacy of 15–24-year-olds (MDG 2); the ratio of females to males in primary, secondary, and tertiary education (MDG 3); unemployment rates among

Beyond mortality: growing a clearer global picture of adolescent health

Besides the data available on global mortality among adolescents and young people, what other data is required to build a global picture [13]? Mortality is best considered as the tip of an iceberg [20]. For example, mortality alone is unlikely to capture patterns of sublethal injuries, their potential for life-long disabilities, and risk factors for targeting injury prevention [14]. These limitations extend to other leading health problems in young people. Annual mortality rates do not reflect

Next steps

Although there are considerable challenges in making international comparisons even in countries with similar levels of income, these data collections have added to the available global picture, and the benefits are evident in a series of recent publications on adolescent health and development [5], [9], [10], [37], [38]. Such reports have provided opportunities to frame the arguments for investment in adolescent health. Further information is required for any sustained investment in this

Acknowledgments

This paper has drawn on discussion held at meeting in September 2009, at the Institute of Child Health, University of London. The meeting was supported by the Institute of Child Health and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. A summary of that meeting and a listing of participants are available at http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/ich/academicunits/general_and_adolescent_paediatrics/Lancet%20Adolescent%20health%20group. The authors would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of many of those

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