More than 1.8 billion people – nearly a third of the global population – are between the ages of 10 and 24, comprising the largest-ever generation of young people. According to Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “how we meet the needs and aspirations of these young people will define the world’s future.”

More than 1.8 billion people – nearly a third of the global population – are between the ages of 10 and 24, comprising the largest-ever generation of young people. According to Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “how we meet the needs and aspirations of these young people will define the world’s future.”

Most young people are “growing up in poor countries, where education and health systems are weak, reproductive choices are not guaranteed, good jobs are hard to find, and where mobility may be constrained,” he says in this week’s podcast. As countries develop, people tend to live longer and have fewer babies, meaning future generations will not benefit from a larger group of younger workers to support them. “We will have to ensure that we equip [young people] appropriately to be able to sustain themselves,” he says.

Education is critical: Today’s primary school enrollment rate is over 90 percent, and while this reflects an “enormous success” at the global level, there is much room for improvement, Osotimehin says.

In sub-Saharan Africa, one in four primary school-aged children do not attend classes, and secondary school completion rates lag much further behind – in some cases as low as three percent. The problem is worse among girls, who are far more likely to drop out than boys. “They get married at 11 or 12, and they disappear from the statistics,” he says.

Ensuring that girls stay in school “would achieve so many things at the same time, from both a health and an economic perspective,” says Osotimehin. But doing so requires tackling sensitive issues – like sexual and reproductive health and rights. “It’s a difficult thing to talk about, but it’s the right thing to do,” he says.

If [girls] are going to stay in school, delay childbearing, enter the labor force, and achieve what we want them to achieve, they will have to have access to information and services to be able to determine when they want children, how many they want, if they want children, and if they want to get married or not.

Child marriage remains a persistent problem in many areas. Although most countries have signed onto the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and have a minimum age for marriage, the law isn’t always enforced or respected, says Osotimehin – “people just give their girls off.” This not only prevents girls from finishing school but also puts them at greater risk of dying or being gravely injured during childbirth.

The challenges are significant, but can be addressed, says Osotimehin. In Niger, UNFPA developed “husband schools” that have improved girls’ health and education outcomes by directly engaging men, and a $250 million World Bank-funded program to empower girls and women throughout the Sahel reflects a major step in the right direction, he says. “I think we know what to do, but we have to scale up; we need to have everybody on board to be able to do this.”

“The youth agenda has never been more important,” he says – particularly in the context of the Millennium Development Goals coming to end next year. Young people will not only be the primary beneficiaries of the next big international development framework, but will also be critical for ensuring its success. “They are the ones who will own that space, and the girls are the ones who will actually make the difference going forward,” says Osotimehin.