On 20 November 2024, World Children’s Day, WHO/Europe and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are releasing 10 evidence-based fact sheets that will drive an ambitious new strategy for child and adolescent health and well-being in the years ahead. The fact sheets not only present the latest available data and identify critical challenges but, crucially, highlight solutions and opportunities for action.
“We stand at a defining moment for children’s health in our region,” says Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, WHO/Europe’s Director for Country Health Policies and Systems. “By focusing on such a wide and important range of health-related issues – such as the use of social media and online gaming, mental health, breastfeeding and others – the fact sheets give countries the tools they need to take decisive action that will shape the health of current and future generations.”
Persistent and emerging challenges
While some countries have made progress, others face significant hurdles: more than 5 million children face difficulties in learning, development and daily activities, and mental health challenges disproportionately affect girls and those from less affluent backgrounds. The COVID-19 pandemic has widened educational inequalities, with 27% of adolescents reporting negative impacts on their school performance – rising to 40% in some countries. The digital revolution has created new risks for young people, with the latest data showing more than 1 in 10 teenagers struggle with problematic social media use. Meanwhile, the WHO European Region continues to face foundational health challenges, including the world’s lowest breastfeeding rates and rising childhood obesity affecting 1 in 3 primary school children.
Yet, alongside these challenges, the fact sheets highlight successful interventions and approaches that are already making a difference across the Region. This evidence collection marks a crucial milestone in the development of WHO/Europe and UNICEF’s new joint child and adolescent health strategy, which has been shaped by extensive consultations with young people and Member States across the Region. The strategy represents a new approach to improving child health, focusing on 5 key objectives: prioritizing healthy development, strengthening health systems, addressing commercial and environmental determinants of health, reducing inequities, and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration.
“What makes these fact sheets particularly powerful is that they don’t just present problems – they point the way toward solutions,” adds Dr Azzopardi-Muscat. “When we see that neonatal mortality rates can vary by a factor of 28 between countries of the Region, we’re not just seeing a statistic – we’re seeing an opportunity to save lives through proven interventions.”
The fact sheets cover crucial areas including early childhood development, breastfeeding, obesity, mental health, digital environments, providing services to adolescents, sexual and reproductive health, refugee and migrant children, the impact of COVID-19 on education, and mortality. They will serve as a foundation for evidence-based policy-making as countries work to implement the new strategy.