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WHO’s second report on its work on adolescent health and well-being highlights the complex, multifaceted needs of the global adolescent population and WHO’s efforts to address them.
About 1.3 billion (16%) of the global population are adolescents: between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Over the past 20 years, mortality rates from all causes have declined among adolescents globally, with the largest decline in older (15 to 19 years) adolescent girls. However, progress has been uneven across different regions and adolescent population groups.
In Indonesia, about 17% of the population – 46 million people – are adolescents. The top causes of adolescent deaths are road injury, tuberculosis (TB), interpersonal violence, drowning and diarrhoeal diseases. The top causes of disability-adjusted life-years among adolescents are road injury, skin diseases, childhood behavioural disorders, TB and anxiety disorders.
Alarmingly, cigarette smoking among students aged 13 to 17 years has increased from 12.5% in 2015 to 17.8% in 2023. Almost 13% of students in this age group now use e-cigarettes. Between 2015 and 2023, the percentage of students who have seriously considered suicide rose from 5.4% to 8.5%. This highlights the critical need to improve adolescents’ access to quality mental health and psychosocial support.
The WHO global report highlights how WHO is working at all levels to improve adolescent health outcomes. In Indonesia, efforts to improve adolescent health are integrated across programme areas, and specifically highlighted in the WHO Country Cooperation Strategy for Indonesia 2023–2027.
Download the report here: Working for a brighter, healthier future – How WHO improves health and promotes well-being for the world’s adolescents, Second Edition.