World Youth Report 2005: 515 million young people live on less than $2 a day.

On 6 October 2005, the General Assembly reviewed in two plenary meetings the situation of youth and the achievements attained in the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth, ten years after its adoption in 1995. The World Youth Report 2005 was also discussed, together with a supplementary report entitled "Making Commitments Matter", which provides an overview of inputs received from youth and youth organizations on the Programme's achievements.

The World Youth Report, prepared every two years by the UN Secretary-General, provides the General Assembly with an overview of the social and economic situation of young people (15 to 24 years old) in 15 priority areas for youth development. To demonstrate their interlinkages, the Report has grouped these priority areas into three clusters: youth in a global economy, which includes issues such as hunger and poverty, education, employment and globalization; youth in civil society, related to concerns on the environment, leisure, participation, information and communication technology (ICT) and intergenerational relations; and youth at risk, encompassing health, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, conflicts and HIV/AIDS. It should be emphasized that in discussing health and gender issues concerning youth, access to medical care and social services, as well as gender equality, are basic human rights, and that policy and programmes should be developed based on that assumption.

Youth in a global economy: Sustainable economic development depends upon the participation of young people in education and employment. Achieving the goals of quality education and decent work for all youth has increasingly been determined by global market forces. The challenge for policymakers is to support youth with programmes and policies that empower them to partake in the benefits of globalization and the spread of ICTs, while protecting them from negative consequences of the globalized economy.

It is estimated that almost 209 million young people, or 18 per cent of all youth, currently live on less than $1 a day, and 515 million or nearly 45 per cent on less than $2 a day. South Asia has the largest number of youth living below these poverty lines, followed by sub-Saharan Africa; both regions are also home to the largest concentration of undernourished young people. There is increased recognition that investing in youth can be beneficial to poverty alleviation efforts. Identified as a major group affected by poverty, youth are increasingly consulted in drafting poverty reduction strategy papers.

Education has always been regarded as the way out of poverty. Since 1995, the number of children...