According to the Towards a New Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents Health report published by the British Medical Journal (September, 2015) investment in adolescents' health and development is key to improving their survival and wellbeing and critical for the success of the recently-endorsed global development agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The United Nations defines adolescents as people between 10 and 19 years old.

This cohort has specific needs and health system needs considerate of their formative processes whether biological, emotional or in relation to their socialisation.

In 2012, an estimated 1.3 million adolescents died globally-speaking, mostly of preventable causes, the specific health-related causes being injuries and violence, mental health and self-harm, communicable and non-communicable diseases, maternal mortality and morbidity and HIV and AIDS.

Globally-speaking, an estimated 180 adolescents die daily from interpersonal violence, 330 die daily from road traffic injuries, at least one in four boys between the ages of 15 and 19 say they have experienced personal violence since the age of 15.

Similar to findings from recent studies supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 10 Pacific Island nations, globally-speaking, some 50 per cent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16 and some 30 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 experience violence by a partner.

Like the global reality, the majority of women interviewed across the Pacific region spoke of first sexual experiences as being forced and coerced. Although half of all mental disorders in adulthood start by the age of 14, most remain undetected and therefore untreated - depression is behind the majority of illness and disability among adolescents.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19, and the third cause of death among adolescents between 10 and 19, globally.

Adolescence is also a time when most sexual debuts occur, the absence of correct and timely information and access to sexual and reproductive health services is life-threatening; 50 to 80 per cent of adolescents contract infections including HIV and AIDS within three years of initiating sexual intercourse.

It is also around this time that behaviour which enables non-communicable diseases begin, tobacco and alcohol use for example.

We must never forget that being neither children nor adults, adolescents' realities can get lost in intersections of (related) legislations and policies, a disservice to adolescent girls as it could prevent situations of early marriages for example, ending or at least reversing horrific facts like maternal mortality is the second leading cause of death among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years.

"The statistics related to adolescents' health are staggering but we also know that these can be reversed within a generation but it will require greater investment in the health and wellbeing of adolescents while addressing fundamental issues like gender equality," Dr Laurent Zessler, director and representative of the UNFPA Pacific sub-regional office says.

"It is critical for this region when you consider that we are actually talking about a cohort that will live through some of the most trying of times. We must begin to discuss reproductive, maternal, newborn, children's and adolescents' health in our climate change adaptation discussions."

The Fiji Government through its Ministry of Health and Medical Services will convene a three-day regional experts' consultation and a ministerial meeting from October 26 (2015) to begin the conversation on the interplay between reproductive, maternal, newborn, children's and adolescents' health (RMNCAH) and climate change.

Considerations of issues surrounding RMNCAH is critical in the context of climate change, particularly in terms of adaptation - Pacific peoples need to be resilient in the face of climate change and there is no better way to begin then ensuring all have a good beginning from the womb, a safe childbirth and crucial follow-up through to adolescence.

The experts' consultation and the ministerial meeting to be held in a week's time is an opportunity for Pacific leaders to develop contextualised and realistic objectives for the dignity, health and wellbeing of every woman, every child, every adolescents, everywhere - inclusive of humanitarian and fragile settings.

The Pacific can expect increasing humanitarian situations caused by the impact of climate change.

A health response must have humanity in its centre, there is no better way of effectively doing that then by weaving reproductive, maternal, newborn, children's and adolescents' health aspects into national health and disaster response and recovery plans.

Our world is home to 1.8 billion young people, between the ages of 10 and 24 among them 600 million girls and this cohort is growing the fastest in developing countries.

In the Pacific, in proportion to the total population now, youth comprise a third of our population and this will continue to increase because of current fertility rates - it is a group that cannot be ignored anymore if climate change adaptation are to be effective and the SDGs, attainable.

Our value system for adolescents has to change, their potential and capacity as agents of change must be fulfilled to its full potential.

Young people are essential partners for inclusivity and sustainable development action.

They are also typically, with women, the first responders in any humanitarian situation.

It is critical therefore that their voices are heard, for therein exist knowledge and vision that will contribute to solutions.

An investment in young people's agency as equal partners, particularly in the context of reproductive, maternal, newborn, children's and adolescents' health and climate change adaptation, is an investment in a resilient Pacific.