If you’ve been keeping an eye on the health news the last couple of days you will most likely have seen the results of the latest report on adolescent health by the World Health Organization. Adolescent health and well-being are often overlooked. It is however, as the WHO put it, “the engine of change in the drive to create healthier, more sustainable societies.” At Create, being a medical communications agency, we are very excited to have been able to help the WHO highlight this issue across the world.
What is it?
The new report by the WHO and its various partners titled ‘Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents’ provides a wealth of information and guidance to help countries improve adolescent health. The WHO says this report “is a milestone for translating their Global Strategy into action.”
What is its purpose?
Not only does it provide a wealth of information to policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, educators, donors and civil society organisation, it also supports the implementation of the Global Strategy by making comprehensive information available to countries to help them plan for adolescent health.
The aim is to encourage investment in adolescent health and support ongoing efforts to ensure adolescents survive and thrive and are in a position to transform the societies in which they live.
Key facts
Some of the report’s key facts include:
- More than 1.2 million adolescents die every year around the world – an average of 3,000 deaths per day – from causes that are largely preventable.
- The leading cause of death among 10- to 19- year-old globally in 2015 was road injury.
- Two thirds of deaths among adolescents happen in Southeast Asia and Africa.
How did we help?
As an existing client, the WHO approached us with their wealth of information and data and asked us to present it in a visually interesting and easy to digest way. Using imagery and graphs, our creative team turned the 700 page word document into a professional looking document well suited to communicate the key points.
We also provided a comic book “Akilah and Carlos’ big day of discovery” to communicate the importance of the role that children and adolescents can play in their communities, an AA-HA! Guidance Brochure and infographics on adolescent health issues.
For a summary of the report and the full report please visit this page on the WHO website. As always, we very much enjoyed working with the team at WHO and, as a medical communications agency, are thrilled to be able to help make a difference to society in this way.
Worldwide coverage
Journalists across the world have taken the key facts from the report and started publishing these the minute the report was released. Below is a small selection of the various publication which have covered the report.
Road accidents biggest global killer of teenagers
Pregnancy problems are leading global killer of females aged 15 to 19
1.2 million adolescents’ deaths mostly preventable, report says
1.2 million adolescents die of causes largely preventable: WHO
