Foreword Last year,a young woman electrified a United Nations cause of death for teenage girls;the pressures that keep consultation on climate change in Bonn,simply by asking 70 million adolescents out of school;exploitation,violent the delegates,“How old will you be in2050?” conflict and the worst kind of abuse at the hands of adults. The audience applauded.The next day,hundreds of It also examines the dangers posed by emerging trends delegates wore T-shirts emblazoned with that question- like climate change,whose intensifying effects in many including the Chair,who admitted that in 2050 he would developing countries already undermine so many adoles- be 110,and not likely to see the results of our failure to cents'well-being,and by labour trends,which reveal a act.The young woman's message was clear:The kind of profound lack of employment opportunities for young world she will live in someday relies both on those who people,especially those in poor countries. inherit it and on those who bequeath it to them. Adolescence is not only a time of vulnerability,it is also an The State of the World's Children 2011 echoes and builds on age of opportunity.This is especially true when it comes to this fundamental insight.Today,1.2 billion adolescents stand adolescent girls.We know that the more education a girl at the challenging crossroads between childhood and the adult receives,the more likely she is to postpone marriage and world.Nine out of ten of these young people live in the de- motherhood-and the more likely it is that her children veloping world and face especially profound challenges,from will be healthier and better educated.By giving all young obtaining an education to simply staying alive-challenges people the tools they need to improve their own lives,and that are even more magnified for girls and young women. by engaging them in efforts to improve their communities, we are investing in the strength of their societies. In the global effort to save children's lives,we hear too little about adolescence.Given the magnitude of the threats to Through a wealth of concrete examples,The State of children under the age of five,it makes sense to focus invest- the World's Children 2011 makes clear that sustainable ment there-and that attention has produced stunning suc- progress is possible.It also draws on recent research to cess.In the last 20 years,the number of children under five show that we can achieve that progress more quickly and dying every day from preventable causes has been cut by one cost-effectively by focusing first on the poorest children third,from 34.,000 in 1990 to around 22.000 in 2009. in the hardest-to-reach places.Such a focus on equity will help all children,including adolescents. Yet consider this:In Brazil,decreases in infant mortality be- tween 1998 and 2008 added up to over 26,000 children's How can we delay?Right now,in Africa,a teenager weighs lives saved-but in that same decade,81,000 Brazilian the sacrifices she must make to stay in the classroom.An- adolescents,15-19 years old,were murdered.Surely,we do other desperately tries to avoid the armed groups that may not want to save children in their first decade of life only to force him to join.In South Asia,a pregnant young woman lose them in the second. waits,terrified,for the day when she will give birth alone. This report catalogues,in heart-wrenching detail,the array The young woman who asked the question in Bonn,along of dangers adolescents face:the injuries that kill 400,000 of with millions of others,waits not only for an answer,but them each year;early pregnancy and childbirth,a primary for greater action.By all of us. Anthony lake Executive Director,UNICEF FOREWORD iiiFOREWORD iii Foreword Last year, a young woman electrified a United Nations consultation on climate change in Bonn, simply by asking the delegates, “How old will you be in 2050?” The audience applauded. The next day, hundreds of delegates wore T-shirts emblazoned with that question – including the Chair, who admitted that in 2050 he would be 110, and not likely to see the results of our failure to act. The young woman’s message was clear: The kind of world she will live in someday relies both on those who inherit it and on those who bequeath it to them. The State of the World’s Children 2011 echoes and builds on this fundamental insight. Today, 1.2 billion adolescents stand at the challenging crossroads between childhood and the adult world. Nine out of ten of these young people live in the de￾veloping world and face especially profound challenges, from obtaining an education to simply staying alive – challenges that are even more magnified for girls and young women. In the global effort to save children’s lives, we hear too little about adolescence. Given the magnitude of the threats to children under the age of five, it makes sense to focus invest￾ment there – and that attention has produced stunning suc￾cess. In the last 20 years, the number of children under five dying every day from preventable causes has been cut by one third, from 34,000 in 1990 to around 22,000 in 2009. Yet consider this: In Brazil, decreases in infant mortality be￾tween 1998 and 2008 added up to over 26,000 children’s lives saved – but in that same decade, 81,000 Brazilian adolescents, 15–19 years old, were murdered. Surely, we do not want to save children in their first decade of life only to lose them in the second. This report catalogues, in heart-wrenching detail, the array of dangers adolescents face: the injuries that kill 400,000 of them each year; early pregnancy and childbirth, a primary cause of death for teenage girls; the pressures that keep 70 million adolescents out of school; exploitation, violent conflict and the worst kind of abuse at the hands of adults. It also examines the dangers posed by emerging trends like climate change, whose intensifying effects in many developing countries already undermine so many adoles￾cents’ well-being, and by labour trends, which reveal a profound lack of employment opportunities for young people, especially those in poor countries. Adolescence is not only a time of vulnerability, it is also an age of opportunity. This is especially true when it comes to adolescent girls. We know that the more education a girl receives, the more likely she is to postpone marriage and motherhood – and the more likely it is that her children will be healthier and better educated. By giving all young people the tools they need to improve their own lives, and by engaging them in efforts to improve their communities, we are investing in the strength of their societies. Through a wealth of concrete examples, The State of the World’s Children 2011 makes clear that sustainable progress is possible. It also draws on recent research to show that we can achieve that progress more quickly and cost-effectively by focusing first on the poorest children in the hardest-to-reach places. Such a focus on equity will help all children, including adolescents. How can we delay? Right now, in Africa, a teenager weighs the sacrifices she must make to stay in the classroom. An￾other desperately tries to avoid the armed groups that may force him to join. In South Asia, a pregnant young woman waits, terrified, for the day when she will give birth alone. The young woman who asked the question in Bonn, along with millions of others, waits not only for an answer, but for greater action. By all of us. © UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0697/Markisz Anthony Lake Executive Director, UNICEF