CHALLENGES AND Adolescence is an age of opportunity for children,and a pivotal time for us to build on their development in the first decade of life,to help them navigate risks and vulnerabilities,and to set them on the path to fulfilling their potential. The world is home to 1.2 billion individuals aged 10-19 In this context,the conventional wisdom might dictate that years.These adolescents have lived most or all of their most resources be devoted to children and young people in lives under the Millennium Declaration,the unprecedented the first decade of their lives.After all,that is when they global compact that since 2000 has sought a better world are most vulnerable to death,disease and undernutrition; for all. when the effects of unsafe water and poor sanitation pose the greatest threat to their lives;and when the absence of Many of their number have benefited from the gains in education,protection and care can have the most pernicious child survival,education,access to safe water,and other lifetime implications. areas of development that stand as concrete successes of the drive to meet the Millennium Development Goals,the In contrast,adolescents are generally stronger and human development targets at the core of the Declaration. healthier than younger children;most have already ben- But now they have arrived at a pivot- efited from basic education;and many al moment in their lives-just as the world as a whole is facing a critical "I want to participate in are among the hardest and,potentially, most costly to reach with essential moment in this new millennium. developing my country services and protection.It hardly seems and promoting human judicious,in these fiscally straitened In just three years,confidence in times,to focus greater attention on the world economy has plummeted. rights for people all them. Unemployment has risen sharply,and real household incomes have fallen or over the world." Such reasoning,though seemingly stagnated.At the time of writing,in Amira,17.Egypt sound in theory,is flawed for several late 2010,the global economic out- reasons,all stemming from one critical look remains highly uncertain,and notion:Lasting change in the lives of the possibility of a prolonged economic malaise,with nega- children and young people,a critical underlying motiva- tive implications for social and economic progress in many tion of the Millennium Declaration,can only be achieved countries,developing and industrialized alike,still looms. and sustained by complementing investment in the first decade of life with greater attention and resources This economic turmoil and uncertainty have raised the applied to the second. spectre of fiscal austerity,particularly in some industrial- ized economies,resulting in a more stringent approach to The imperative of investing in adolescence social spending and overseas development assistance.In The arguments for investing in adolescence are fivefold. developing countries,too,public finances have tightened, The first is that it is right in principle under existing human and social spending,including investments in child-related rights treaties including the Convention on the Rights of the areas,has come under greater scrutiny. Child,which applies to around 80 per cent of adolescents, THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN 20112 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2011 In this context, the conventional wisdom might dictate that most resources be devoted to children and young people in the first decade of their lives. After all, that is when they are most vulnerable to death, disease and undernutrition; when the effects of unsafe water and poor sanitation pose the greatest threat to their lives; and when the absence of education, protection and care can have the most pernicious lifetime implications. In contrast, adolescents are generally stronger and healthier than younger children; most have already ben￾efited from basic education; and many are among the hardest and, potentially, most costly to reach with essential services and protection. It hardly seems judicious, in these fiscally straitened times, to focus greater attention on them. Such reasoning, though seemingly sound in theory, is flawed for several reasons, all stemming from one critical notion: Lasting change in the lives of children and young people, a critical underlying motiva￾tion of the Millennium Declaration, can only be achieved and sustained by complementing investment in the first decade of life with greater attention and resources applied to the second. The imperative of investing in adolescence The arguments for investing in adolescence are fivefold. The first is that it is right in principle under existing human rights treaties including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which applies to around 80 per cent of adolescents, The world is home to 1.2 billion individuals aged 10–19 years.1 These adolescents have lived most or all of their lives under the Millennium Declaration, the unprecedented global compact that since 2000 has sought a better world for all. Many of their number have benefited from the gains in child survival, education, access to safe water, and other areas of development that stand as concrete successes of the drive to meet the Millennium Development Goals, the human development targets at the core of the Declaration. But now they have arrived at a pivot￾al moment in their lives – just as the world as a whole is facing a critical moment in this new millennium. In just three years, confidence in the world economy has plummeted. Unemployment has risen sharply, and real household incomes have fallen or stagnated. At the time of writing, in late 2010, the global economic out￾look remains highly uncertain, and the possibility of a prolonged economic malaise, with nega￾tive implications for social and economic progress in many countries, developing and industrialized alike, still looms. This economic turmoil and uncertainty have raised the spectre of fiscal austerity, particularly in some industrial￾ized economies, resulting in a more stringent approach to social spending and overseas development assistance. In developing countries, too, public finances have tightened, and social spending, including investments in child-related areas, has come under greater scrutiny. “I want to participate in developing my country and promoting human rights for people all over the world.” Amira, 17, Egypt Adolescence is an age of opportunity for children, and a pivotal time for us to build on their development in the first decade of life, to help them navigate risks and vulnerabilities, and to set them on the path to fulfilling their potential. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES