•        A study published in the Lancet analysed the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, conducted in November 2021, and concluded that the global focus on decreasing infectious disease burden among preschool children must be expanded to older children. •        The year 2019 lost 30 million youth lives to infectious diseases and 30 million years to disabilities. •        The communicable disease burden among under-five children have reduced from 85% in 1990 to 75% in 2019 because of significant public health improvements. However older children and adolescents in poorer nations have an increasing burden of diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, TB and HIV.  •        More than 50% of the mortality in youth worldwide were contributed by low income countries, majorly from India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Vaccine-preventable diseases like diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, and chickenpox claimed 228,758 youth lives worldwide, with 66.9% occurring in low-resource nations.  •        The study also suggested that larger strategies that tackle socioeconomic obstacles must be funded, such as improving access to healthcare for adolescent girls living with HIV.