We often think of youth as a time for freedom and exploration. But many youth across the world lack this “right to adolescence,” are pressed by family poverty and social expectations to leave school, work long hours despite child labor laws, and, for girls, marry young. Exclusion, marginalization, stigma and gender discrimination further increase youth vulnerability, and impede their power to be active agents in shaping their future. How do we ensure that country-specific laws, regulations and policies reflect the commitments made to international treaties guaranteeing the rights of adolescents and youth? Addressing the health dimensions of the world’s rapidly expanding adolescent population will require new thinking at the nexus of education, labor and economics, design and technology, public policy, religion, and society, and the media.
Below are examples of resources relevant to the overarching themes. Previously highlighted resources and additional resources can be found in our digital Repository.
Resources:
Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition 2025
This report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), and World Bank Group presents global, regional, and country estimates of child malnutrition, analyzing trends and pulling out key findings on stunting, wasting, and overweight in children under 5. The 2025 report finds that progress is not on track to meet the global targets set out by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Although the world has seen declines in child stunting and wasting since 2000, rates of overweight remain stagnant and recent data show a potential increase in stunting that could put progress at risk. The report aims to inform nutrition programs and assess progress toward the SDGs.
Water Under Fire, Volume 3
This report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) focuses on how attacks on water and sanitation services during armed conflict affect children. This is the third volume of the Water Under Fire campaign, which aims to bring attention to water and sanitation access in fragile contexts. The report examines international humanitarian and human rights frameworks that address access to water and sanitation in armed conflict, describes how armed conflict may directly or indirectly impact water and sanitation services, and summarizes the risks posed to children’s health and survival without access to clean water and sanitation. The report notes that when conflict impairs safe water access, children’s health is affected by disease outbreaks, disruptions to infrastructure and services, displacement, economic hardship, and more.
The State of the World's Children 2025
This report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) examines the state of child poverty in the world today, finding that progress toward ending child poverty is under threat. The report analyses data and trends in monetary child poverty, relative monetary child poverty, and multidimensional child poverty, which measures deprivations across six area: education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation, and water. The report finds that more than one in every five children globally are severely deprived in at least two areas of multidimensional poverty. The report also explores policy actions proven to reduce child poverty as well as global threats driving child poverty.
