Adolescent health
Adolescence carries the highest risks of morbidity and mortality from certain causes, including accidents and injuries, early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Lifestyle diseases that are caused by smoking, risky sexual behavior, alcohol and drug abuse have their roots in adolescence, and are responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates globally. Preventing risky behaviour and promoting healthy choices among adolescents can, therefore, yield positive health outcomes, not just during adolescence, but also during adulthood. Healthy and developed adolescents have a better chance of becoming healthy, responsible and productive adults, leading to greater skills, fewer work days lost to illness, longer working lives and increased productivity and progress.
Promoting the healthy development of adolescents is one of the most important investments that any society can make. There have been great improvements in the status of health and development in the Western Pacific Region, yet a lot more effort still needs to be made to protect and promote adolescents' needs and rights.
WHO, together with countries and areas in the Region and partner agencies, are working to promote healthy development of adolescents and reduce mortality and morbidity. In the Western Pacific Region, several technical units are working to implement interventions that improve adolescent health in the Region.
Fact sheets
News and press releases
08 July 2009
Multisectoral partnership crucial to improve maternal, child and adolescent health
[full text]
Relevant publications and documents
Joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA Meeting on Improving Adolescent Health in the Region
A joint WHO, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) meeting on improving adolescent health in the region was organized in order to encourage and support countries to collate and utilize strategic data, develop evidence–informed policies, share experiences and challenges among countries and develop a common vision for improving adolescent health, and to receive inputs for revising the regional strategic direction.
"Reaching Out"
Quarterly Newsletter of the World Health Organization's Child and Adolescent Health and Development Programme.
Health in Asia and the Pacific
Countries in Asia and the Pacific have reached unprecedented levels of prosperity, but millions of people are still mired in poverty and poor health, with no sign of their being able to breach the barrier to better medical care. Despite irrefutable evidence of this troubling gap between rich and poor, few governments and health specialists have access to the data they need to address the problem.
[more publications and documents]
Upcoming meetings and events
No meeting/event planned at this time.