Adolescents Today
The World Health Organization defines adolescents as people between the ages of 10 and 19, although the definition of adolescence sometimes varies at the country level. In Nigeria, national adolescent health policy regards adolescents as persons between the ages of 10 and 24 years.
There are 1.2 billion adolescents living on the planet, approximately half of whom are girls. Adolescents are a specific group with specific needs. The majority of the world’s adolescents live in low- and middle-income countries.
Adolescence is often divided into two stages-early adolescence, ages 10 to 14, and late adolescence, ages 15 to 19. Within surveys and data collection, adolescent girls age 15 to 19 have often been included in the category with women of reproductive age, which are females between the ages of 15 and 49.
The distribution of people age 10 to 24 years illustrates where countries with large adolescent populations like Nigeria have the potential to benefit from a demographic dividend. For countries to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend, they must ensure that girls are empowered to have equal opportunity to participate in the workforce, receive an equitable quality education, and are supported with adequate health and nutrition.
References
Nutrition International (2019): Adolescent Nutrition and Anaemia Course www.nutritionintl.org
National Adolescent Health Policy; Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health.
AKINLADE ADEMOLA R. (M.Sc. RDN)
