According the IRIN, almost 40 percent of the global population is under 24; over one billion people - one in five people - are aged 15-24; in one third of the world’s countries, more than 60 percent of the population is under 30; and 85 percent of the world’s youth live in the developing world. As Ross Mountain, of Development Assistance Research Associates stated at the recent Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition, “Without investments early on, youth remain trapped in situations of poverty and dependency, and are easily co-opted into criminality, social conflict, and patterns of inter-generational violence.”
The education and development needs of these children must be given the highest priority and their role in development reexamined as vulnerable countries face increasing food prices, urbanization, migration, the impact of climate change and population growth. To read more click here.
