The unforeseen challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a significant toll on people across the world, with populations affected in diverse ways. As well as the direct health implications of COVID-19, in the context of widespread school closures, increased economic insecurity, forced isolation measures and limited access to face-to-face social support, there is urgent concern about the critical health and wellbeing challenges being faced by adolescents and young people across the world.
To learn more about these challenges, the YTH Initiative, in partnership with UNESCO, held a rapid virtual community consultation on May 1, 2020, with 20 young people, ages 19 and 30. This included eleven females, eight males and one young person identifying as non-binary, representing nineteen countries around the world. We wanted to know what challenges youth were facing, what has changed in their lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began and what has stayed the same, and what youth-facing/serving organizations like ours could do to support them. You can find the answers to these questions and more in our report.