A new global report has identified poor mental health, rising obesity, violence, and climate change as urgent challenges threatening the wellbeing of adolescents worldwide.
The 2025 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, which includes experts from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), highlights that while adolescents make up 24% of the global population—around two billion people—they receive only 2.4% of international development and health funding.
The report warns that by 2030, over half of the world’s adolescents will live in countries where their age group bears a disproportionate burden of complex health issues. Key ongoing challenges include:
- High rates of poor mental health and inadequate support
- Rising obesity driven by environmental and commercial factors
- Increased exposure to cyberbullying and digital misinformation
- Violence in conflict zones and at home
- Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Limited reproductive rights, especially for young women
- Growing impacts of climate change
By 2050, the report projects that 70% of adolescents will live in urban areas. While urbanization could provide new opportunities, the report cautions that rapid, unplanned growth may increase poverty, isolation, and housing insecurity. It calls for the creation of safe, youth-friendly public spaces to help improve health and social outcomes.
Violence remains a major concern, with nearly half of adolescents reporting some form of violence, often with lasting effects on emotional development. Although gender gaps in high school education have narrowed, the report predicts that by 2030, nearly one-third of young women will not be engaged in education, employment, or training.
Professor Peter Azzopardi of MCRI emphasized the need for early and targeted intervention, stating that addressing adolescent health is essential for improving broader public, social, and economic wellbeing across generations.
The Commission urges global leaders to significantly increase investments in adolescent health, warning that inaction will come at a high cost to future societies.
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