The second Adolescent and Youth Health Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the department of School and University Health,  concluded on Wednesday at Hormuz Grand hotel.

The regional conference concluded with several recommendations reaffirming adolescent and youth health in the region. the recommendations were guided by The Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030) as well as by the global, regional and national, strategies, commitments and action plans to all health-related goals, targets and plans especially those with specific relevance to adolescent and youth health and well-being.

The second Adolescent and Youth Health Conference recommended to identify adolescent and youth health and development priorities based on the context of each country in addition to ensure that national policy frameworks recognize the importance of the meaningful engagement of adolescents and youth, and have regular platforms for their engagement and two-way communication.

Moreover, the conference recommended approaching the rights and the needs of adolescents and youth in an integrated, comprehensive, age-appropriate manner, promoting multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination between health and non-health sectors such as education, nutrition, child protection, legislative sectors. It recommended to consider a gradual introduction of acceptable and applicable services provision for adolescents and youth (adolescents and youth friendly spaces and services), as well as reviewing the current status of school health based strategies and initiatives, and curricula to ensure they reflect the latest evidence in adolescent and youth health, and meet the mental and physical health needs of adolescents and youth. furthermore, participants advice to fund and support a comprehensive implementation research agenda to fully understand the perceptions, needs and priorities for and by youth, testing effectiveness of interventions and innovations, and nurture a culture of evidence-based decision making / policies.

it should be noted that the regional conference was inaugurated under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd Al Said, Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet Affairs, with the presence of  number of their Excellencies and Representatives of World Organizations. It witnessed a wide range of participants from the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) region and other regions in the world.

The four-day conference, that joined multidisciplinary experts, aimed at creating an increase regional awareness with community-based programs and to advocate Health Care providers to prevent and face the unmet needs of the adolescents and youth population in the MENA Region. It hopes to achieve number of specific objectives through highlighting key challenges and barriers in adolescents and youth health at different levels (primary health care including school health, parents, community and other concerned sectors). The conference further aspired to identify multi-sectoral experiences, innovations and practices in adolescents and youth health and highlight mechanisms to put adolescents as key players in protection of their own health, in addition to create awareness to the negative aspects in adolescents and youth health and how to challenge premature death in this age group.

Holding the theme “Together; in providing holistic adolescents and youth care”, the conference highlighted spectrum of topics on adolescent and youth mental health, non-communicable diseases (NCDS) among adolescent and youth, as well as adolescents and youth reproductive health and the multi-sectorial investments in adolescents and youth health. Beside oral presentations and scientific discussions, the conference involved an exhibition, interactive sessions with youth, and Youth corner.