Policies and programmes involving youth A/RES/74/121 Acknowledging that the current generation of youth is the largest one ever, and in this context reaffirming the importance of involving youth, and youth -led and youth-focused organizations, in the work of the United Nations at the national, regional and international levels in all matters of concern to them, including in the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Recognizing that many countries are making progress towards achieving universal health coverage by 2030 and that the good health and well-being of young people are closely intertwined with their capacity to complete their education and seize employment opportunities, Recognizing also that young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are most vulnerable to HIV, experiencing infection rates two or three times as high as those of young men, depending on the region, as well as many health -related threats and challenges, Recognizing further that a youthful population creates significant opportunities for development, and underlining in this regard the importance of the creation by Member States of appropriate policy environments, in collaboration with t he United Nations system, in order to realize a demographic dividend driven by large proportions of young people moving into the labour force, while adopting an inclusive results-based approach to development planning and implementation in accordance with national priorities and legislation, and stressing in this regard the decision of the African Union to proclaim 2017 the Year of Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investment in Youth, Reaffirming that generating decent work and quality employment for youth is one of the biggest challenges that needs to be tackled, and emphasizing the priority areas of the World Programme of Action for Youth linked to the employability of youth, including quality education and health, and access to information and technology, and bearing in mind that over 59 million young people are unemployed and 138 million working youth are in poverty, including extreme poverty, Emphasizing the need to empower youth, including young women and girls, in order to achieve sustainable development, and stressing in this regard the commitment in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to eradicate poverty and substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training and to develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment, and in this regard takes note of the call for action of the International Labour Organization on the youth employment crisis and the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, Emphasizing also the need to substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship, and to ensure, by 2030, that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and wom en, achieve literacy and numeracy, Recalling that Member States have an important role in promoting and protecting the rights and in meeting the needs and aspirations of youth, including young people in vulnerable situations, and recognizing that the ways in which young people are able to fulfil their potential as agents of change will influence social and economic conditions and the well-being and livelihood of future generations, Recognizing the important and positive contribution of young people in efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, Recalling the Lisbon Declaration on Youth Policies and Programmes, adopted at the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, in 1998, and in this 19-22041 3/9