Healthy transitions into adulthood

Young people are crucial to the future of all societies, and there are currently 1.2 billion people aged 10-24 worldwide. Ensuring that young people’s needs are met and helping them to reach their potential is essential for health and wellbeing now and in the future.

In MARCH we have been actively involved in providing evidence for policy, working closely with The Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing on Adolescent Health and contributing to WHO’s Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!). We tackle the major health challenges for adolescents and young people, and promote young people’s inclusion in political and social decision making by putting participatory approaches at the heart of our research.

Births that are wanted and healthy

The birth theme addresses reproductive, maternal and newborn health as well as the prevention of stillbirths. We cover programmes related to preconception, family planning, pregnancy, care at birth, and the postnatal period.

Globally, there are 220 million women with an unmet family planning need, 1 in 3 women experience gender-based violence and 55.7 million abortions occur each year, making this a serious health focus in the sustainable development goals era.

Children who survive and thrive

Despite significant progress in reducing childhood mortality, in 2016 5.6 million children still died before their fifth birthday. An African child is still 15 times more likely to die than a child from a high-income country and by 2030, two thirds of all child deaths are predicted to be in Africa, highlighting great global inequalities.

We address the major health concerns facing children and have an integrated approach to child health that focuses on the overall well-being of the child. The School excels at generating research evidence from bench to bedside, in addition to systems and policies, which provide the right environment for positive changes to develop. It is vital that research helps children thrive as well as survive – achieving their full physical, cognitive and social potential.