Tackling High Rate Of Adolescents’ Deaths 

The World  Health Organisation  (WHO) defines an adolescent as any person between ages 10 and 19. This age range falls within WHO’s definition of young people, which refers to individuals between the ages 10 and 24.
Adolescence  is an important time for promoting health and preventing disease, one that is sometimes overlooked.
According  to reports by WHO for adolescents and young adults health, over 1.5 million adolescents and young adults aged 10 to 24 years died in 2019, nearly 5000 every day. This report highlighted  that the highest  death was in Sub-Sahara Africa, Central and Southern Asia, Oceania (excluding Australia  and New Zealand). The average global probability of a 10 year old dying before 24 was six times higher in Sub-Sahara Africa than in North America and Europe.
The higher mortality countries are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
Adolescent  health is the range of approaches  to preventing, detecting or treating young people’s  health and well-being. These set of people have specific health problems and developmental needs that differ from those of children or adults. The causes of ill-health in adolescents are mostly psychosocial rather than biological. Young people often engage in health risk behaviours  that reflect the processes of adolescent  development,  experimentation and exploration.
The main health issues of adolescent include unintentional injuries thereby leading to cause of death and disability.
This may be as a result of road traffic accident. Reports had it that in 2019, over 115,000 adolescents  died as a result of those that were vulnerable road users including pedestrians, cyclists or users of motorized two wheelers.
Drowning is also among the top causes of death among adolescents. More than 30,000 adolescents, over three quarters of them boys were estimated to drown in 2019. Teaching children and adolescents to swim is an essential intervention to prevent these deaths.
Depression, a mental health condition is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents, Suicide is the third leading cause of death in people aged 15-19 years according to reports. Mental health conditions account for 16% of the global burden of disease  and injury in people aged 10-19 years. However, half of all the mental health disorders in adulthood start at the age of 14, but most cases are undetected and untreated.
Factors that have impact on the well-being and mental health of adolescents include violence, poverty, stigma, exclusion and living in humanitarian and fragile settings can increase the risk of developing mental  health problems.
The consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
Also, drinking alcohol and drug abuse among adolescents  is a major concern in many countries. Worldwide, more than a quarter of all people aged 15-19 years are current drinkers, amounting to 155 million adolescents.  Prevalence of heavy episodic drinking among adolescents  aged 15 to 19 years was 13.6% in 2016, with males most at risk.
Cannabis is the most widely use psychoactive drug among young people with about 4.7 percent of people aged 15 to 16 years using it at least once in 2018. Alcohol and drug abuse  in children and adolescents is associated with neurocognitive alterations which can lead to behavioural, emotional, social and academic problems in later life.Subsequently, the vast majority  of people using tobacco today began doing so when they were adolescents.
Globally, at least 1 in 10 adolescents  aged 13 to 15 years used tobacco, although there are areas where this figure is much higher.
HIV/AIDS is another major health condition among adolescents. An estimated 1.7 million adolescents  (age 10 to 19 years) were living with HIV in 2019 with around 90 percent in WHO African Region . Adolescents accounts for about 10% of new adult HIV infections with three -quarters amongst adolescent girls. Adolescents and young people need to know how to protect themselves  from HIV infection  and must always have means to do so.
Other infectious diseases include diarrhoea and lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia) There are estimated to be among the top 10 causes of death for adolescents 10 to 14 years. These two diseases, along with meningitis are all among the top five causes of adolescent death in Africa low and middle income countries.
Also infectious  diseases like Human Papilloma Virus that normally occurs after onset of sexual activity can lead to both short term disease during adolescence but more importantly also leads to cervical and other cancers several decades later. Early adolescence (9 to 14 years) is the best time for vaccination against HPV infection and it is estimated that if 90 percent of girls globally get the HPV vaccine more than 40 million lives could be saved over the next century.
Also, early pregnancy and child birth among adolescent girls is a leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19 years globally from complications in this area . Approximately, 12 million girls in this age bracket and at least  777,000 girls under 15 years give birth each year in developing regions.
Nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are major health challenges in adolescents. Iron deficiency and anaemia was the second leading cause of years lost by adolescents to death and disability  in 2016. Iron and folic acid supplements are a solution that also helps to  promote health before adolescents become parents . Regular deworming in areas where intestinal helminths such as hookworm are common is recommended to prevent micronutrient (including iron) deficiencies. Many boys and girls in developing countries enter adolescence  undernourished , making them more vulnerable to disease and early death. At the other end of of the line, the number of adolescents who are overweight or obessed is increasing in low, middle and high income countries.

By: Ibinabo Ogolo With Agency Report