SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Despite social and
economic progress,
child marriage persists
100
limited information on sexual and reproductive
health and/or access to appropriate health
care services. With increasing age of marriage,
premarital sexual activity among adolescents
is on the rise. 60
HIV prevalence is relatively low in the region,
for example, compared to sub-Saharan Africa,
but globally, one in seven of all new HIV infections
occur during adolescence. Young people
have a right to know how to protect themselves
and must have the means to do so. This includes
being able to obtain condoms to prevent sexual
transmission, and clean needles and syringes
for those who inject drugs. Better access to
HIV testing and counselling is also needed.
To reduce the vulnerability of young people to
HIV, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand have initiated
life skills-based HIV/AIDS education in schools
and community institutions. Such initiatives
are taking place at a slow pace, however, given
cultural and traditional sensitivities.
Adolescents in Asia-Pacific are in some
cases victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
The largest number of children and women
trafficked worldwide are in or from Asia, with
estimates ranging from 250,000 to 400,000,
around 30 percent of the global total. Sexual
abuse and exploitation have long-term implications
for both physical and mental health,
with consequences including depression, suicide,
unintended pregnancies and HIV transmission.
CHILD MARRIAGE DENIES RIGHTS
AND COSTS LIVES
When a young girl marries, the consequences
reverberate throughout her life. Child marriage,
defined by the United Nations as occurring
before the age of 18, violates human rights and
compromises efforts to reduce gender-based
violence, advance education, overcome poverty
and improve health. 61 A landmark resolution
calling for a ban on child marriage was agreed
on 21 November 2014 during the 69th session
of the United Nations General Assembly. 62
Since child brides are under intense social
pressure to prove their fertility, many experience
early and frequent pregnancies before their bodies
can safely carry or deliver children, resulting
in high rates of maternal death or permanent
disability. Prenatal deaths are 50 percent higher
among babies born to mothers under 20 years
of age than among those born to mothers aged
20 to 29. 63
Although child marriage continues to be a
global problem, it is most entrenched in South
Asia, where nearly half of all girls marry or enter
an informal union before turning 18. Almost
one in five girls is married before age 15. Bangladesh
has the highest national prevalence, a
staggering 66 percent. 64 More than 11 percent
of girls there begin bearing children by age 15,
and almost 59 percent are mothers by 19. In
sub-Saharan Africa, 40 percent of girls under
18 years of age are married; in Latin America,
the figure is 29 percent. It is 16 percent in East
Asia and the Pacific. 65
The age of marriage is rising in most South
Asian and South-east Asian countries, however.
From 1985 to 2010 in South Asia, early marriage
declined from 63 percent to 45 percent,
with much of the progress occurring among
girls under 15. Since marriages of girls aged 15
to 18 are still common, however, more efforts
are needed to protect them. Factors that cause
child marriage can include poverty, concerns
about security and protection of girls, lack of
education or distance to schooling facilities,
gender discrimination, and cultural and religious
traditions. 66
TRANSITIONING TO
ADULTHOOD DEPENDS
ON DECENT WORK
Education and health care propel the start of
demographic transition and smooth its course,
equipping people with capabilities that eventually
prompt declines in fertility and mortality.
They also are critical in making the most of any
potential demographic dividend, ensuring that
a large young workforce can be most productive.
Equally important is the ability of economies
to quickly absorb young new labour force entrants
in decent work. In much of Asia-Pacific,
young working-age population are reaching its
peak, joining the labour force in unprecedented
numbers.