A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing

Sarah Baird¹, Shakira Choonara², Peter S Azzopardi³, Prerna Banati⁴, Judith Bessant⁵, Olivia Biermann⁶, Anthony Capon⁷, Mariam Claeson⁶, Pamela Y Collins⁸, Nicole De Wet-Billings⁹, Surabhi Dogra¹⁰, Yanhui Dong¹¹, Kate L Francis¹², Luwam T Gebrekristos¹³, Allison K Groves¹⁴, Simon I Hay¹⁵, David Imbago-Jácome¹⁶, Aaron P Jenkins¹⁷, Caroline W Kabiru¹⁸, Elissa C Kennedy¹⁹, Luo Li¹², Chunling Lu²⁰, Jun Ma¹¹, Terry McGovern²¹, Augustina Mensa-Kwao²², Sanyu A Mojola²³, Jason M Nagata²⁴, Adesola O Olumide²⁵, Olayinka Omigbodun²⁶, Molly O'Sullivan²⁷, Audrey Prost²⁸, Jennifer H Requejo²⁹, Yusra R Shawar³⁰, Jeremy Shiffman³⁰, Avi Silverman³¹, Yi Song³², Sharlene Swartz³³, Rita Tamambang²⁶, Henrik Urdal³⁴, Joseph L Ward³⁵, George C Patton³⁶, Susan M Sawyer³⁶, Alex Ezeh³⁷, Russell M Viner³⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: sbaird@email.gwu.edu.
² Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC Australia; Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Program, The Kids Research Institute of Australia, Perth, WA, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
⁴ Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health & Ageing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁷ Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁸ Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁹ Academic Affairs, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁰ Emerging Professionals Network, International Association for Adolescent Health, Gautam Buddha Nagar, India.
¹¹ Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing, China.
¹² Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC Australia.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁴ Community Health and Prevention, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁵ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹⁶ Quito, Ecuador.
¹⁷ Pacific Planetary Health Hub, Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for People, Place and Planet, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia; Pacific Planetary Health Research Centre, Fiji Institute of Pacific Health Research, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.
¹⁸ Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹⁹ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
²⁰ Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
²¹ City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, New York, NY, USA.
²² Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
²³ Department of Sociology, School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
²⁴ Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
²⁵ Institute of Child Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria; University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
²⁶ Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
²⁷ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
²⁸ Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK.
²⁹ Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, World Bank, Washington DC, USA.
³⁰ Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA.
³¹ FIA Foundation, London, UK.
³² Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing, China.
³³ Equitable Education and Economies, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Education, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
³⁴ Peace Research Institute Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
³⁵ Department of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London, UK; Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
³⁶ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC Australia.
³⁷ Community Health and Prevention, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³⁸ Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.

PMID: 40409329
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00503-3

Review

A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing

Sarah Baird et al. Lancet. 2025.

. 2025 May 31;405(10493):1945-2022.

doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00503-3. Epub 2025 May 20.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: sbaird@email.gwu.edu.
² Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC Australia; Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Program, The Kids Research Institute of Australia, Perth, WA, Australia; National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
⁴ Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health & Ageing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁷ Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁸ Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁹ Academic Affairs, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁰ Emerging Professionals Network, International Association for Adolescent Health, Gautam Buddha Nagar, India.
¹¹ Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing, China.
¹² Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC Australia.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁴ Community Health and Prevention, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁵ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹⁶ Quito, Ecuador.
¹⁷ Pacific Planetary Health Hub, Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Centre for People, Place and Planet, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia; Pacific Planetary Health Research Centre, Fiji Institute of Pacific Health Research, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.
¹⁸ Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹⁹ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health Program, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
²⁰ Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
²¹ City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, New York, NY, USA.
²² Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
²³ Department of Sociology, School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
²⁴ Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
²⁵ Institute of Child Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria; University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
²⁶ Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
²⁷ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
²⁸ Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK.
²⁹ Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, World Bank, Washington DC, USA.
³⁰ Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA.
³¹ FIA Foundation, London, UK.
³² Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing, China; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing, China.
³³ Equitable Education and Economies, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Education, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
³⁴ Peace Research Institute Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
³⁵ Department of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London, UK; Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
³⁶ Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC Australia.
³⁷ Community Health and Prevention, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³⁸ Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.

PMID: 40409329
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00503-3

No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests All authors declare support from the Gates Foundation (INV-056091, INV-048897) for the Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. DI-J, LTG, SC, LL, SD, RT, AM-K, JMN, YD, and OB report honoraria for their contributions as Youth Commissioners. SS reports royalties from Oxford University Press. AOO reports consulting payments from IPAS, the Society for Family Health, and Plan International Nigeria; royalties from Oxford University Press; a volunteer position on an independent scientific advisory board for a Wellcome Trust-funded study; and non-paid membership in various organisations, including the Society for Adolescent and Young People's Health in Nigeria and WHO GAMA. SAM reports honoraria payments from Yale University, Vanderbilt University, Harvard University, New York University, American University, Columbia University, Carleton University, and Northwestern University. DI-J reports payment as a member of the PMNCH Board, is a Youth Advisory Group member of the UGood Project and a board member of IPAS, and holds stock in Pfizer. SAM declares travel support for attending meetings from Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. AOO is a non-paid member of the Society for Adolescent and Young People's Health in Nigeria and WHO's Global Action for Measurement of Adolescent Health. AC received travel support to attend meetings afrom the Wellcome Trust, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, the European Climate Foundation, the Australian Department of Health and Aged care; the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and the Victorian Department of Heath. SS declares travel support for meetings from the Human Sciences Research Council and Mastercard Foundation. Commissioners received travel and accommodation support to attend Commission meetings in Kenya (2023) and South Africa (2023), with no payments made to them or their institutions unless otherwise stated. SMS reports an unpaid role as past president of the International Association for Adolescent Health. AE reports financial support through flexible startup funds from Drexel University (made possible by support from Dana and David Dornsife to the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University) for research time and travel. MO'S received sub-contract payments through her institutions for her coordination roles for the Commission. JMN, AOO, CL, AKG, CWK, and AM-K received sub-contract payments through their institutions for analysis work done for the Commission. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Publication types

Actions

Grants and funding

001/WHO_/World Health Organization/International

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- ClinicalKey
- Elsevier Science
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing

Affiliations

A call to action: the second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing

Authors

Affiliations

Conflict of interest statement

Publication types

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Miscellaneous