Post by Prathibha Perera
Message by Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
Executive Director, UNFPA,United Nations Population Fund

Today, on the International Day of Youth, and every day, young people are searching
for opportunities to pursue and fulfill their dreams. The world’s more than 1.8 billion
people aged 10 to 24 yearn for a world where they have the knowledge, skills and
opportunities to develop to their fullest potential.

While many people say that youth are the future, it is time to embrace their leadership
today. Young people are natural leaders. They are leading the HIV prevention
revolution—with prevalence rates falling among youth in 15 of the 21 African countries
most affected by AIDS. They are leading the use of new technology to network, create
and speak out for change. They are challenging traditional gender roles and paving the
way for equity and equality in the 21st century.

But while there is promise, there is also peril. Today, more than half of young people
survive on less than two dollars a day, living in poverty. Some 100 million adolescents
don’t attend school. Every year, 15 million adolescent girls become mothers. And 40
per cent of all new HIV infections occur among young people aged 15-24. In all regions
of the world, youth unemployment is high, and many fall victims to exploitation and
violence.

The sad truth is that too many young people are growing up with few opportunities,
trying to keep up hope for the future. Young people, especially adolescent girls,
continue to be marginalized and suffer human rights violations. As we commemorate
the International Youth Day, it is time to renew efforts to make young people a priority..

Today, as we launch the International Year of Youth, on the eve of the World Youth
Conference in Mexico, I am calling on decision makers to listen to the needs of young
people and respond to them. I call on governments to enter meaningful dialogue
with young people to develop a mutual understanding on how to jointly address the
development challenges facing us. Let us enter a partnership across generations to
fulfill the promise of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals
to create a more peaceful and just world.