In observance of International Youth Day on Friday, senior UN officials urged world leaders to take action and create a better future for 500 million young people living in extreme poverty, 15 million AIDS orphans, and millions of pregnant child brides. "Clearly, the priorities must change," UN Population Fund chief Thoraya Obaid said. "It is time to make the well-being and inclusion of young people a top priority."

Every day, said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, almost 30,000 children die of poverty, and 7,000 young people become infected with HIV. More than 100 million school-age children do not attend school, he noted.

Annan, Obaid, and young people themselves used Friday to appeal to world leaders attending a UN summit in mid-September to take action to meet UN development goals, which include cutting extreme poverty by half, stemming the AIDS pandemic, and ensuring universal primary education -- all by 2015. Annan said the summit offers "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address some of the most pressing challenges of our era."

"All young people have a right to opportunity, education and health, including reproductive health," said Obaid. "This is urgent because half of all new HIV infections are among young people and far too many young women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth."

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