Life cycle approach to child and adolescent health

Young people are our human capital for the future, therefore child and adolescent health has attracted considerable political and professional attention in recent years. Health is indivisible, requires holistic approach throughout the individual's life. Healthy outcome at one point in the life cycle, provides a positive determinant for health elsewhere in the cycle. Health and development of the 0-19 age group links intimately, at both ends of the range, with reproductive health. Health during childhood is in part determined by the health of the mother, and affected also by factors such as the nutrition of adolescent girls and the avoidance of early pregnancy. These factors, in turn, are influenced by healthy growth and development in childhood. The paper presents main environmental and socio-cultural challenges for each of the stages of child and adolescent life. Main challenge described are: unsafe abortion, malnutrition, anaemia, malformations, and infections during pregnancy; low birth weight, asphyxia, hypothermia, infection, failure to initiate early and full breastfeeding in the neonatal period; poor nutrition, growth and development, frequent illnesses, injury, abuse and neglect in the early childhood; poor nutrition, growth and development, injury, abuse, neglect, and helminth infections in the early school age; poor nutrition, poor development, chronic conditions, mental disorders, injury, drug abuse, and violence in the adolescence. Both, prevention of ill health and care for illnesses are important at all times but the balance between them shifts over time during the childhood and adolescence. Main actions needed to meet the child and adolescent needs are presented as well.