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World Youth Report Released
Global trends show young people faring better
but many face challenges, says UN Report released on 27 April 2004 in
NewYork. Overall, young people today are better off than previous generations,
but many are still severely hindered by a lack of education, poverty,
health risks, unemployment and the impact of conflict, a new United Nations
report on the global situation of youth reveals.
According to the World Youth Report 2003, young women and men (between
the ages of 15 and 24 years) in some regions are better educated and have
an unprecedented knowledge of the world around them; yet 133 million youth
remain illiterate. Only one in four young people (22 per cent of young
women, 26 per cent of young men) is enrolled in secondary school in sub-Saharan
African, 40-57 per cent in South Asia, and 62-67 per cent in the Middle
East and North Africa.
Recognizing young people as partners in development, the report states
that they need to be given the right opportunities in order to be effective
agents of social change. "If youth are indeed builders of their societies,
then we need to be more concerned about their access to opportunities,"
says Johan Schölvinck, Director of the Division for Social Policy
and Development at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UN DESA), which issued the report.
Worldwide, of the almost 1.1 billion young people between the ages of
15 and 24, nearly 9 out of 10 live in developing countries. In 2000, nearly
a quarter (22.5 per cent) survived on less than one dollar a day. As such,
the World Youth Report calls for further research on the youth dimensions
of poverty. Up to 110 million youth are estimated to be malnourished and
up to 7,000 become infected with HIV daily.
Young people represent around 18 per cent of the world's population yet
they account for 40 per cent of the unemployed. Between 1995 and 1999,
youth unemployment rose by 8 million, and some 70 million young people
are currently without work. Compared to adults, the rate of unemployment
among youth is usually two to three times higher. "The high level of youth
unemployment is a major concern because of the profound impact this has
on young people's lives," said Mr. Schölvinck.
The report also finds that armed conflicts have taken a huge toll on young
people: 2 million children were killed and 6 million more were left disabled
as a result of wars during the last decade. In addition, a total of 12
million were made homeless and more than 1 million were orphaned or separated
from their parents; more than 10 million remain psychologically traumatized.
In 1995 the UN General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action
for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond.The World Youth Report 2003 focuses
on the priority areas identified in that programme of action: education,
employment,extreme poverty, health, environment, drugs, juvenile delinquency,
leisure-time activities,girls and young women, and participation in decision-making.
It also addresses new issues that were later identified as additional
priorities for youth,as agreed by the United Nations Economic and Social
Council in 2003. These include globalization, information and communications
technology (ICT), HIV/AIDS, conflict prevention and intergenerational
relations.
The World Youth Report was 27 April at a special event in the Dag Hammarskjöld
Library Auditorium of the UN Secretariat building.
The report is available electronically at:www.un.org/youth or for purchase
from UN Publications at publications@un.org.
For further information, please contact: Franck Kuwonu in the UN Department
of Public Information, tel: 212 963 8264, Renata Sivacolundhu, DPI, tel:
212 963 2932, e-mail: mediainfo@un.org
or Joop Theunissen, UN-DESA, tel: 212-963-7763, e-mail: theunissen@un.org
FULL REPORT: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/wyr/index.html
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