Invest in adolescents’ health, well-being

AS WE celebrate Youth Month, we are reminded that the choices we make today play a role in shaping the future of our nation, and this begins with investing in our adolescents.

- PROF EUGENE LEE DAVIDS

Africa is expected to be home to more than 45% of adolescents globally by the year 2100. In South Africa, it is estimated that adolescents account for 18.5% of the population, which is about 10 million young people between 10 and 19 years old. If we want to prepare our youth for the future, we need to invest in their health and well-being today.

On Youth Day, we celebrated the brave young people of the 1976 Soweto Uprising and honoured the role they played in fighting to empower youth. Yet today, the health and well-being of South African adolescents, shaped by the unique challenges they face, including socio-economic pressures, continue to be overlooked.

Data from recent studies paint a deeply concerning picture of the developmental period of adolescence in South Africa: those between 10 and 19 years of age are reporting higher depression and anxiety symptoms, particularly older adolescents from low-income settings; while 45% of adolescents from rural environments report having used substances in the past 12 months, with alcohol being the most prevalent, followed by tobacco and cannabis.

A more recent trend has seen just over 16% of school-going adolescents engaging in vaping. The median age of sexual debut is 16 years, with reported incidence of sexually transmitted infections being higher among female adolescents.