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U.N. report urges steps to help in youth-adult transition

CHENNAI: In addressing the challenges the youth face in their transition to adulthood, policymakers must focus on developing their capacities through greater investment in areas such as education, health and skills training, while providing them opportunities to participate in development, the United Nations World Youth Report 2007 has said.

“Because of their sheer size, and also because of their higher level of education, the 1.2 billion youth, aged 15 to 24 in 2007 and constituting 18 per cent of the world’s population, are an essential and critical part of the development process of our societies,” according to the report, released on Monday.

“Never before has this age bracket constituted such a large share of the overall population. Further, 15 to 24-year-olds constitute 25 per cent of the working age population,” the report notes. “Today’s young people are overall the best educated generation of youth in history. However, for many young people, the transition to adulthood is slowed down by poverty and their inability to find decent work.”

Investments in youth have improved in all regions over the years, and young people’s access to education has expanded, says the report, which focusses on “Young People’s Transition to Adulthood: Progress and Challenges.” Yet, in all regions, the transition has been affected by poverty. “Because of poverty, and sometimes because of social and cultural constraints, many young people are excluded from accessing quality education, decent employment, health and other resources and services.”

Noting that better education has not yet become a springboard for many youth to move out of poverty, the report says: “In many places where public sector education has fallen short, private education is on the rise. Many more young people, including girls, have completed basic education than ever before, and many now have access to higher levels of education… School attainment varies by wealth in most countries around the world. And despite policies to provide free education in many countries, costs for books, uniforms, and transportation are too high for many households.”

In all the regions, young people have limited access to quality health care even though they face a more complex health environment. The lack of education and access to contraception leads to early pregnancies, which pose health risks and reduce the future opportunities of young mothers.

An increasing number of new threats to their health, especially the HIV/AIDS epidemic, has added to the difficulties the youth experience in several regions, especially in Africa, and in the transitional economies of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, says the report.

Of the global youth labour force of 633 million in 2005, some 353 million — or 55.7 per cent — lived in Asia. “Among the most important factors that will influence whether and how Asian economies continue to benefit from their sizeable youth population is how much of an opportunity youth have to develop their potential through education, decent employment opportunities and adequate health care.”

The report says access to education has expanded in many parts of Asia, and the gains are most noticeable at the primary level. Girls are increasingly benefiting from primary education. In India, for example, the proportion of girls enrolled for primary education rose from 84 to 96 per cent between 1998 and 2002. “Nevertheless, many countries in the region, particularly those in South Asia, still have a long way to go to achieve gender parity in education.” “Youth living in poverty, youth living in rural areas, girls, and young women, youth with disabilities, youth from ethnic minorities, and youth who are refugees or have been displaced by war or natural disasters, have benefited less from progress in the region.”

A striking feature that the report highlights relates to migration. “Asia is a major receiving and sending region for migrants. Job opportunities outside home communities and countries have encouraged millions of young Asians to become mobile on both a permanent and non-permanent basis.

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