U.N. report warns of HIV/AIDS among adolescents.

2003 NOV 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early marriage, unwanted pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS among the world's adolescents are a threat to development and must be combated as part of the war on poverty, the United Nations says.

A fifth of the world's population - 1.2 billion people - is between 10 and 19, more than ever before, the United Nations said. Half are poor and a quarter live in extreme poverty on less than a dollar a day.

"How well we prepare them to face adult challenges in a fast-changing world will shape humanity's common future," the United Nations Population Fund said on its web site in a prelude to publication in London of its annual State of the World's Population report.

Helping young people with reproductive health issues has become an urgent priority, the report said, calling for more investment in youth-friendly services, family planning and education programs.

HIV/AIDs has become a disease of the young, fueled by poverty and severe lack of information and prevention services, the report said. Half of all new HIV infections are among people aged 15-24, and a majority of the young don't know how the disease is transmitted.

"This report really is a wake-up call, we are calling on national leaders ... leaders of the local community and young people themselves to recognize the crisis and ...