The new Human Development Report 2014, Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience, is released today.

The report states that persistent vulnerability threatens human development, and unless it is systematically tackled by policies and social norms, progress will be neither equitable nor sustainable.

Chapter 3 of the report, 'Vulnerable people, vulnerable world' draws on a background paper by Young Lives, which is led from ODID. The paper, Youth Vulnerabilities in Life Course Transitions by Abby Hardgrove, Kirrily Pells, Jo Boyden and Paul Dornan, examines youth vulnerabilities, with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. 

The paper touches on the challenges confronted by young people exposed to extreme, life-threatening circumstances, such as political violence and armed conflict, but focusses on vulnerabilities that emerge in key transitions experienced by most young people, such as those linked to school, work, partnership and parenthood.