Why adolescents’ health and well-being need to be prioritized in future budgets

Adolescence is the formation stage in which young people experience important mental, sociological, and physical development and growth milestones. In the process of their development, they also face many physical and mental health challenges. This is even more pronounced in India due to lack of access to information, counseling and services. Many of our young people have much to deal with, including structural poverty, social discrimination, regressive social norms, limited opportunities to achieve education and career goals, early marriage and childbirth, and malnutrition. I have a disability.

The fifth round of the recently published National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), which documents government data on health and family welfare issues, reveals groundbreaking findings. Anemia has emerged as a major health concern among adolescents, especially girls. The prevalence of anemia in girls aged 15-19 years increased from 54% in 2015-16 to 59% in 2019-21. During the same period of adolescent boys, it rose from 29% to 31%. India also lacks proper reproductive and child medical services to meet adolescent needs. The availability of contraception helps adolescents avoid teenage pregnancies resulting from early marriage, prevent unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases from unsafe sexual activity, and delay pregnancy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further impacted the infrastructure for youth health and well-being.

Schools were closed and movement was severely restricted. Many have lost their parents and social networks and are now faced with the potential for delayed education and employment opportunities. Unequal access to technology has meant that many who do not have a personal device are suffering from far more serious confusion in education. According to a 2020 survey, disasters and crises also cause a surge in marriages for children, which is also the cause of premature pregnancy. From May to July 2020, Childline, a government agency that receives and deals with distress calls, including those related to child marriages, received 5,584 distress calls regarding child marriages year-on-year. Increased by 33%. According to a study conducted by the Indian Population Foundation in Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the closure of a school during a pandemic of COVID-19 will provide access to adolescent girls’ lunch, iron and folic acid pills and sanitary napkins. It had an impact.

India currently has a demographic dividend with a large young population, but the opportunity to take advantage of this dividend is limited. According to government population projections, the median age of Indians will jump from 10 to almost 35 by 2036. With 253 million people, adolescents (ages 10-19) make up about 20% of India’s population. If we do not invest in education, health and welfare for this important age group, the demographic dividend can turn into a demographic disaster.

Therefore, the next budget should be aware of the needs of this age group and prioritize its development. Reproductive health and family planning services need to be further integrated with nutrition programming. This reduces adolescent pregnancy rates, raises awareness of birth intervals, provides an important window for mothers to reconstruct their depleted nutritional status and to have a healthier and safer pregnancy. The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) program is the only comprehensive program designed for youth and should be assigned. Health needs. Girls must have access to sexual and reproductive health services, including sanitary napkins. Governments also need to ensure proper supply of contraceptive methods and long-acting reversible contraceptives to allow for interval between births to meet reproductive health needs. Health education in schools and universities needs to be promoted to enable adolescents to meet their health needs.

Budget allocations for adolescent nutrition and education and skills development need to be significantly increased. Mission Poshan 2.0, a plan aimed at integrating various nutritional programs in the country, should prioritize adolescent girls.

According to 2017 data released by the World Health Organization, India has approximately 9,000 psychiatrists and 49 pediatric psychiatrists. This equates to 0.75 psychiatrists per 10,000 rupees and 0.021 pediatric psychiatrists per adolescent. WHO is pegging the desired ratio with 3 psychiatrists per 10,000 rupees. Similarly, India has about 1.93 mental health care workers per 10,000 rupees, with a global average of 6.6. Therefore, investing in building a mental health infrastructure is very important. We need to fill the digital divide, but we also need to promote secure online behavior.

Governments also need to be aware of the lack of data on adolescents. You need to recognize them as separate categories of data collection. By following a standardized definition of adolescents (ages 10-19), national datasets collect valuable evidence about this separate population group to inform research, program implementation, and policy making. I can do it.

Last but not least, there is a need for greater investment in social and behavioral communication and gender equality initiatives, which can dramatically improve the health outcomes of our next generation. I can do it. A comprehensive approach to addressing the mental and physical needs of adolescence and their recognition of their relevance lies in their recognition as key members with clear and unique needs and desires. Recognizing and engaging research, work experience, and the youth themselves in setting these priorities reveals the relevance of resources and effort commitments in this area.

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