Commitments: youth reproductive health, the World Bank, and the Millennium Development Goals

This report from the Global Health Council argues that improving the reproductive health of youth is key to achieving all eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reducing poverty. It also highlights the World Bank’s vital role in these efforts. Links are made between each youth reproductive health issue and the goal or goals which it affects. Key issues covered include HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), early pregnancy, unmet need for contraception, unsafe abortion and lack of access to services and information. The causal links between reproductive health and factors such as poor education, lack of livelihoods and gender inequities are also highlighted.

The report recommends the use of health sector reform mechanisms to serve youth reproductive health needs. It also emphasises the need for poverty reduction strategies to support the MDGs. It calls for the inclusion of rights conventions in policy-making, and for greater youth involvement. The report concludes that to meet the MDGs, huge financial resources must be raised from the Bank’s donor countries, in particular the United States. It calls on the Bank to provide leadership in setting development priorities and identifying the resources necessary to translate political commitment into results at community level.