Final Report - Evaluation of UNICEF's Programme and Work in Relation to Adolescents and the Participation of Children and Young People

This evaluation is taking place at a time when the world now has the largest population of young people in human history, representing up to 30 per cent of the global population, with the number of adolescents and young people estimated at 2.2 billion. The urban populations of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will double in less than a generation and more than 50 per cent of these will be urban dwellers under the age of 25. Recognizing that UNICEF had paid inadequate attention to adolescent children, the organisation established the Adolescent Development and Participation Unit (ADAP) in the Programme Division in Headquarters in New York at the end of 2001 to provide programme support and technical guidance in the area of adolescent health and development. The 2006-2009 MTSP also includes reference to the need for the organisation to integrate children and young people’s participation throughout UNICEF programmes. After 10+ years of UNICEF work in this area generally and eight years of strategic efforts through the ADAP Unit to assure the integration of an adolescent rights perspective into all organisation decided it was time to evaluate and reflect upon this work provide some guidance regarding related future directions.The evaluation was conducted in two phases, with the first phase focusing on a desk review supplemented by interviews. The key findings of Phase I are summarized in Section 1 and copies of the related reports can be obtained from the ADAP Unit. This report represents the findings of Phase II of the evaluation that included a significant field component.