Programme
Opportunities for adolescents
Adolescents need better opportunities to live healthy lives, learn throughout their lives and fully exercise their citizenship.
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The challenge
Adequate health services, secondary education and protection are key to adolescent growth and development. In the current situation in Peru, these services are still insufficient and largely non-participatory.
- In 2017, 13.4 per cent of teenage girls aged 15 to 19 were pregnant. In some Amazon regions, this number reached 30.6 per cent. In 2014, 34.2 per cent of adolescent girls did not have health insurance coverage.
- In 2015, 81.3 per cent of teenagers aged 12 to 17 reported having been victims of psychological or physical violence at some point in their lives.
- In 2016, 71.1 per cent of teenagers completed secondary education in a timely manner. In some Amazon regions however, this number dropped to 43.6 per cent.
- 57.3 per cent of adolescents in conflict with the law who are completing socio-educational measures are deprived of their liberty. It is necessary to strengthen the system of alternatives measures to ensure that the youth justice system fulfils its education role, promoting the social reintegration of adolescents.
- 34 per cent of mentions related to adolescents in print media between 2012 and 2014 refer to them as violators of the law, demonstrating persistent negative stereotypes about young people.
The solution
To remove these and other barriers, UNICEF works with the State and civil society partners to:
- improve the policy and corresponding national plan for differentiated secondary education, health and nutrition for adolescents, and increase the allocation of resources for its implementation;
- design and strengthen diversification and innovation in secondary education for the various contexts in Peru and relevant strategies for promoting well-being among adolescents who are most excluded;
- incorporate education on sexual and reproductive health and citizenship into secondary education services;
- build capacities of authorities and officials for managing intersectoral and intergovernmental policies, plans and strategies for differentiated secondary education and health and nutrition for adolescents;
- strengthen capacity-building for staff at educational institutions and health care facilities to promote adolescent health and nutrition; and
- strengthen spaces and mechanisms for the participation of adolescents and social and collective organizations in the systematic monitoring of education, health and nutrition services for adolescents.
Resources
- Adolescents of the bicentennial (Spanish)
- Video: Portrait of a teenage country (Spanish)
- Video: The story of Kimberly (Spanish)
- Video: The story of Troy (Spanish)
- Adolescents from Iquitos: #ComoTigrillosSeremos (Spanish)
- Adolescents from Ucayali: #NoNosBoquichiquees (Spanish)
- Adolescents from Carabayllo: #DejaDePulpearnos (Spanish)
- My School´s Vibe / La Onda de mi Cole (Spanish)
