Youth health issues to take centre stage at World Congress on Adolescent Health

Theme pushes for more investments in youth for a healthy ‘New India’

With the largest population of adolescents in the world, it is only fitting thatIndia hosts this year’s World Congress on Adolescent Health. Pegged as the biggest global event in adolescent health and held once every four years, the International Association for Adolescent Health’s 11th World Congress on Adolescent Health, ‘Investing in Adolescent Health – the Future is Now’ will be held in New Delhi from October 27-29 2017.

The agenda for Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the new Global Strategy on Women’s Children’s and Adolescents’ Health have brought adolescence to the centre-stage. Even while the mortality of adolescents globally stands at staggering 1.3 million deaths per year, and considered a time of risk for health, adolescence is increasingly now recognised as a period of opportunity for health, in which individuals gain the assets and resources to sustain health across the life-course.

The World Congress seeks to cover topical themes through discussions in sessions such as ‘Global adolescent health: Opportunities and challenges’, ‘Programming for adolescent health in India: RKSK and beyond’, ‘Toward a gendered approach to adolescent health’, ‘Mental health and adolescents’, and more.

The World Congress is being organised under the supportive leadership of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India. MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child (MAMTA) is the lead organisation that is hosting the World Congress with a consortium of partners including Pathfinder International, Population Foundation of India (PFI), Population Services International (PSI), and The YP Foundation. The World Congress also has scientific support from Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI).