living in informal settlements and slums in even greater poverty than in rural areas. This has major impacts on the healthy growth and development of children and youth living in urban settlements. Those no longer living with families are often excluded from policies and strategies to eliminate poverty. 130 million children and youth are estimated not to be in school worldwide. Participation in primary education is low in many developing countries because of poverty or lack of schools, especially in the most impoverished urban areas. There are marked differences in the availability of secondary education, and many young people never enter, or drop out and fail to complete, schooling under pressure to earn money or provide family care18. Around 400 million youth will be entering the global workforce during this decade19. However, youth also make up 41 per cent of the world’s unemployed, amounting to some 74 million young people mainly living in urban areas20. Long-term unemployment among youth tends to be high in many developing countries and is associated with problems such as ill health, involvement in crime and delinquency, and substance abuse21. Unemployment rates are higher for young women than young men, especially in the developing world 22. Child labour places children and youth, especially girls, at risk of involvement in illegal activities such as prostitution or drug trafficking, and increases the risk of HIV/ AIDS23. The promise of training and a sustained livelihood is a powerful lure in regions with high levels of poverty, hunger and unemployment24. Rates of substance abuse and the age of use are changing and have become a great public health concern, especially in cities where there is greater availability, and pressure to abuse them. An estimated 20 per cent of smokers worldwide begin before the age of ten, and increasing drug use among children and youth, mainly in urban areas, has been highlighted by the World Drug Report25. More accessible and cheaper synthetic drugs will put even more children
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Youth, Children and Urban Governance