DCP3: Child and Adolescent Health and Development

This report from the World Bank is the eighth volume of the Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (DCP3) series and focuses on the health and well-being of children and adolescents, ages 5 to 21, worldwide. It provides estimates of mortality and morbidity among youth, examines the impact of interventions during that period on health and development, features successful community- and school-based health and nutrition interventions, reports on platforms that promote early childhood development, and highlights the synergies between health and education outcomes.

The Disease Control Priorities Network (DCP) promotes and supports the use of economic evaluation for priority setting at both global and national levels, providing the most up-to-date evidence on intervention efficacy and program effectiveness for the leading causes of global disease burden. DCP3 presents its findings in nine individual volumes; the first eight focus on conceptually related health challenges—essential surgery, maternal/child health, cancer, mental and neurological disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, major infectious diseases, injury prevention, and child and adolescent development—and each package addresses the disease burden, interventions, policies, and economics of that cluster of health issues. The ninth volume provides an overview with main findings and conclusions about achieving health priorities. DCP3 chapters, background papers, articles, reports, briefs, and related resources are publicly accessible.

For a summary of the analyses from DCP3 Volume 8, read Bundy DA et al.'s Investment in Child and Adolescent Health and Development: Key Messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd Edition in The Lancet, in which the authors summarize two cost-effective intervention packages, one delivered in schools and one emphasizing later adolescence, that they argue could provide “phase-specific support across the life cycle,” solidify improvements gained from investments in early childhood, and leverage corresponding investments in education.