Why increase interagency cooperation on adolescent health

In early 1997 an initiative was started in response to the challenge of coordinating and planning international adolescent health work. The first task adopted by the Interagency Group on Adolescent Health and Development was to clarify the respective roles of each of the organizations to advocate adolescent health and address the risk conditions that affect the health of young people. It is clear that comprehensible and sustainable social and economic conditions are decisive for the healthy development of children. In addition since adolescent health has much to do with the overall contexts in which health can be produced economic adjustments which have caused social adjustments have taken their toll on children and adolescents. A strategic and well-coordinated World Bank/UN International Childrens Emergency Fund UN Population Fund and the WHO program designed to increase social cohesion economic security and social safety would have effects on the health of young people and on positive economic and social development as a whole. Thus individual players of the international health economic and social development community should broaden their outlook and increasingly coordinate their activities.