World Population Day: World youth population swells to an unprecedented 1.8 billion
Moon urges urgent action needed to provide young people the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
With the world’s youth population to 1.8 billion, the largest generation in history, its potential to tackle major challenges facing humanities was hampered by lack of education or opportunities to find employment.
UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon on Friday, World Population Day, sent a message in which he noted that the youth, mostly in developing countries, indicates enormous potential to help tackle the major challenges facing humanity.
However, most of the young do not have access to good education or opportunities to find employment or participate in politics and on this day we should commit to help the young progress.
Moon urged that action was urgently needed with too many young people lacking the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
“I am particularly concerned about adolescent girls who may face discrimination, sexual violence, early marriage and unwanted pregnancies. And even among those young people fortunate enough to receive university degrees, many find themselves without employment or stuck in low-wage, dead-end jobs,” the statement read.
The solution, Moon suggested, lies in investments in health, education, training and employment for young people as they undergo the critical transition to adulthood. This will improve prospects for their lives.
Young people themselves are speaking out. Earlier this year, more than 1,000 youth organizations endorsed a Global Youth Call, welcomed by 40 countries, which recommends youth-focused goals and targets in the post-2015 development vision.
2015 marks the deadline for reaching the Millennium Development Goals, shaping the successor agenda, and adopting a meaningful legal agreement on climate change. Youth have a major role in all these processes. The year 2015 also marks the 20th anniversary of the World Programme of Action on Youth. Its practical guidelines for national action and international support remain relevant today. In particular, to fully carry out this Programme of Action, governments must respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all youth and respond effectively to any violations.
“On this World Population Day, I call on all with influence to prioritise youth in development plans, strengthen partnerships with youth-led organisations, and involve young people in all decisions that affect them. By empowering today’s youth, we will lay the groundwork for a more sustainable future for generations to come.
UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon on Friday, World Population Day, sent a message in which he noted that the youth, mostly in developing countries, indicates enormous potential to help tackle the major challenges facing humanity.
However, most of the young do not have access to good education or opportunities to find employment or participate in politics and on this day we should commit to help the young progress.
Moon urged that action was urgently needed with too many young people lacking the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
“I am particularly concerned about adolescent girls who may face discrimination, sexual violence, early marriage and unwanted pregnancies. And even among those young people fortunate enough to receive university degrees, many find themselves without employment or stuck in low-wage, dead-end jobs,” the statement read.
The solution, Moon suggested, lies in investments in health, education, training and employment for young people as they undergo the critical transition to adulthood. This will improve prospects for their lives.
Young people themselves are speaking out. Earlier this year, more than 1,000 youth organizations endorsed a Global Youth Call, welcomed by 40 countries, which recommends youth-focused goals and targets in the post-2015 development vision.
2015 marks the deadline for reaching the Millennium Development Goals, shaping the successor agenda, and adopting a meaningful legal agreement on climate change. Youth have a major role in all these processes. The year 2015 also marks the 20th anniversary of the World Programme of Action on Youth. Its practical guidelines for national action and international support remain relevant today. In particular, to fully carry out this Programme of Action, governments must respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all youth and respond effectively to any violations.
“On this World Population Day, I call on all with influence to prioritise youth in development plans, strengthen partnerships with youth-led organisations, and involve young people in all decisions that affect them. By empowering today’s youth, we will lay the groundwork for a more sustainable future for generations to come.