More attention to the promotion and protection of the rights and the socio economic needs of young people needs to be an essential element of a country’s efforts to eradicate poverty. Young people (defined as aged 10 to 24 years) account for 29 per cent of the population in low and middle-income countries (or 1.4 billion in number). Over a 100 countries have a significant youth bulge in their populations (see Attachment 4 at the end of the paper). Many young people in the world, however, lack basic literacy and numeracy skills and have no access to reproductive health care. As well, their economic prospects are extremely limited. To close this gap requires both additional resources as well as attention to gender inequality issues and the more effective delivery of existing services.
This paper presents analysis and evidence to support these claims. The purpose of the paper is not to highlight the vulnerability of particular groups of young people. This task has been performed admirably by recent publications such as the UNFPA’s World Population Report 2003 on adolescent health and rights. Its aim instead is a more focused one — to show how best to present the case to policy makers for more attention to the needs of young people ahead of other competing claims for resources.