109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1409

AN ACT

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide 

assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children in 

developing countries, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assistance for Orphans 

3 and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries 

4 Act of 2005’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress makes the following findings: 

7 (1) As of July 2004, there were more than 

8 143,000,000 children living in sub-Saharan Africa, 

9 Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean who were 

10 identified as orphans, having lost one or both of 

11 their parents. Of this number, approximately 

12 16,200,000 children were identified as double or13 phans, having lost both parents—the vast majority 

14 of whom died of AIDS. These children often are dis15 advantaged in numerous and devastating ways and 

16 most households with orphans cannot meet the basic 

17 needs of health care, food, clothing, and educational 

18 expenses. 

19 (2) It is estimated that 121,000,000 children 

20 worldwide do not attend school and that the major21 ity of such children are young girls. According to the 

22 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), or23 phans are less likely to be in school and more likely 

24 to be working full time. 

25 (3) School food programs, including take-home 

26 rations, in developing countries provide strong incen-
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1 tives for children to remain in school and continue 

2 their education. School food programs can reduce 

3 short-term hunger, improve cognitive functions, and 

4 enhance learning, behavior, and achievement. 

5 (4) Financial barriers, such as school fees and 

6 other costs of education, prevent many orphans and 

7 other vulnerable children in developing countries 

8 from attending school. Providing children with free 

9 primary school education, while simultaneously en10 suring that adequate resources exist for teacher 

11 training and infrastructure, would help more or12 phans and other vulnerable children obtain a quality 

13 education. 

14 (5) The trauma that results from the loss of a 

15 parent can trigger behavior problems of aggression 

16 or emotional withdrawal and negatively affect a 

17 child’s performance in school and the child’s social 

18 relations. Children living in families affected by 

19 HIV/AIDS or who have been orphaned by AIDS 

20 often face stigmatization and discrimination. Pro21 viding culturally appropriate psychosocial support to 

22 such children can assist them in successfully accept23 ing and adjusting to their circumstances. 

24 (6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in 

25 developing countries routinely are denied their inher-
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1 itance or encounter difficulties in claiming the land 

2 and other property which they have inherited. Even 

3 when the inheritance rights of women and children 

4 are spelled out in law, such rights are difficult to 

5 claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries it 

6 is difficult or impossible for a widow, even if she has 

7 young children, to claim property after the death of 

8 her husband. 

9 (7) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a dev10 astating affect on children and is deepening poverty 

11 in entire communities and jeopardizing the health, 

12 safety, and survival of all children in affected areas. 

13 (8) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the 

14 number of orphans worldwide and has exacerbated 

15 the poor living conditions of the world’s poorest and 

16 most vulnerable children. AIDS has created an un17 precedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan 

18 Africa, where children have been hardest hit. An es19 timated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or both par20 ents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 

21 25,000,000 children will have been orphaned by 

22 AIDS. 

23 (9) Approximately 2,500,000 children under the 

24 age of 15 worldwide have HIV/AIDS. Every day an25 other 2,000 children under the age of 15 are in-
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1 fected with HIV. Without treatment, most children 

2 born with HIV can expect to die by age two, but 

3 with sustained drug treatment through childhood, 

4 the chances of long-term survival and a productive 

5 adulthood improve dramatically. 

6 (10) Few international development programs 

7 specifically target the treatment of children with 

8 HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Reasons for this 

9 include the perceived low priority of pediatric treat10 ment, a lack of pediatric health care professionals, 

11 lack of expertise and experience in pediatric drug 

12 dosing and monitoring, the perceived complexity of 

13 pediatric treatment, and mistaken beliefs regarding 

14 the risks and benefits of pediatric treatment. 

15 (11) Although a number of organizations seek 

16 to meet the needs of orphans or other vulnerable 

17 children, extended families and local communities 

18 continue to be the primary providers of support for 

19 such children. 

20 (12) The HIV/AIDS pandemic is placing huge 

21 burdens on communities and is leaving many or22 phans with little support. Alternatives to traditional 

23 orphanages, such as community-based resource cen24 ters, continue to evolve in response to the massive 
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1 number of orphans that has resulted from the pan2 demic. 

3 (13) The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan 

4 Africa has implications for political stability, human 

5 welfare, and development that extend far beyond the 

6 region, affecting governments and people worldwide, 

7 and this crisis requires an accelerated response from 

8 the international community. 

9 (14) Although section 403(b) of the United 

10 States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 

11 and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) estab12 lishes the requirement that not less than 10 percent 

13 of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS assistance 

14 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall be 

15 expended for assistance for orphans and other vul16 nerable children affected by HIV/AIDS, there is an 

17 urgent need to provide assistance to such children 

18 prior to 2006. 

19 (15) Numerous United States and indigenous 

20 private voluntary organizations, including faith21 based organizations, provide assistance to orphans 

22 and other vulnerable children in developing coun23 tries. Many of these organizations have submitted 

24 applications for grants to the Administrator of the 

25 United States Agency for International Development 
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1 to provide increased levels of assistance for orphans 

2 and other vulnerable children in developing coun3 tries. 

4 (16) Increasing the amount of assistance that is 

5 provided by the Administrator of the United States 

6 Agency for International Development through 

7 United States and indigenous private voluntary or8 ganizations, including faith-based organizations, will 

9 provide greater protection for orphans and other vul10 nerable children in developing countries. 

11 (17) It is essential that the United States Gov12 ernment adopt a comprehensive approach for the 

13 provision of assistance to orphans and other vulner14 able children in developing countries. A comprehen15 sive approach would ensure that important services, 

16 such as basic care, psychosocial support, school food 

17 programs, increased educational opportunities and 

18 employment training and related services, the pro19 tection and promotion of inheritance rights for such 

20 children, and the treatment of orphans and other 

21 vulnerable children with HIV/AIDS, are made more 

22 accessible. 

23 (18) Assistance for orphans and other vulner24 able children can best be provided by a comprehen-
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1 sive approach of the United States Government 

2 that—

3 (A) ensures that Federal agencies and the 

4 private sector coordinate efforts to prevent and 

5 eliminate duplication of efforts and waste in the 

6 provision of such assistance; and 

7 (B) to the maximum extent possible, fo8 cuses on community-based programs that allow 

9 orphans and other vulnerable children to re10 main connected to the traditions and rituals of 

11 their families and communities. 

12 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNER13 ABLE CHILDREN IN DEVELOPING COUN14 TRIES. 

15 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 

16 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VUL19 NERABLE CHILDREN. 

20 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) There are more than 143,000,000 orphans 

22 living sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and 

23 the Caribbean. Of this number, approximately 

24 16,200,000 children have lost both parents. 
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1 ‘‘(2) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has created an 

2 unprecedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saha3 ran Africa, where children have been hardest hit. 

4 The pandemic is deepening poverty in entire commu5 nities, and is jeopardizing the health, safety, and 

6 survival of all children in affected countries. It is es7 timated that 14,000,000 children have lost one or 

8 both parents to AIDS. 

9 ‘‘(3) The orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa 

10 has implications for human welfare, development, 

11 and political stability that extend far beyond the re12 gion, affecting governments and people worldwide. 

13 ‘‘(4) Extended families and local communities 

14 are struggling to meet the basic needs of orphans 

15 and vulnerable children by providing food, health 

16 care including treatment of children living with HIV/

17 AIDS, education expenses, and clothing. 

18 ‘‘(5) Famines, natural disasters, chronic pov19 erty, ongoing conflicts, and civil wars in developing 

20 countries are adversely affecting children in these 

21 countries, the vast majority of whom currently do 

22 not receive humanitarian assistance or other support 

23 from the United States. 

24 ‘‘(6) The United States Government admin25 isters various assistance programs for orphans and 
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1 other vulnerable children in developing countries. In 

2 order to improve targeting and programming of re3 sources, the United States Agency for International 

4 Development should develop methods to adequately 

5 track the overall number of orphans and other vul6 nerable children receiving assistance, the kinds of 

7 programs for such children by sector and location, 

8 and any other such related data and analysis. 

9 ‘‘(7) The United States Agency for Inter10 national Development should improve its capabilities 

11 to deliver assistance to orphans and other vulnerable 

12 children in developing countries through partner13 ships with private volunteer organizations, including 

14 community and faith-based organizations. 

15 ‘‘(8) The United States Agency for Inter16 national Development should be the primary United 

17 States Government agency responsible for identi18 fying and assisting orphans and other vulnerable 

19 children in developing countries. 

20 ‘‘(9) Providing assistance to such children is an 

21 important expression of the humanitarian concern 

22 and tradition of the people of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) AIDS.—The term ‘AIDS’ has the meaning 

25 given the term in section 104A(g)(1) of this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—The term ‘children’ means 

2 persons who have not attained 18 years of age. 

3 ‘‘(3) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘HIV/AIDS’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 104A(g)(3) of 

5 this Act. 

6 ‘‘(4) ORPHAN.—The term ‘orphan’ means a 

7 child deprived by death of one or both parents. 

8 ‘‘(5) PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.—The term ‘psy9 chosocial support’ includes care that addresses the 

10 ongoing psychological and social problems that affect 

11 individuals, their partners, families, and caregivers 

12 in order to alleviate suffering, strengthen social ties 

13 and integration, provide emotional support, and pro14 mote coping strategies. 

15 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to 

16 provide assistance, including providing such assistance 

17 through international or nongovernmental organizations, 

18 for programs in developing countries to provide basic care 

19 and services for orphans and other vulnerable children. 

20 Such programs should provide assistance—

21 ‘‘(1) to support families and communities to 

22 mobilize their own resources through the establish23 ment of community-based organizations to provide 

24 basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children; 
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1 ‘‘(2) for school food programs, including the 

2 purchase of local or regional foodstuffs where appro3 priate; 

4 ‘‘(3) to increase primary school enrollment 

5 through the elimination of school fees, where appro6 priate, or other barriers to education while ensuring 

7 that adequate resources exist for teacher training 

8 and infrastructure; 

9 ‘‘(4) to provide employment training and re10 lated services for orphans and other vulnerable chil11 dren who are of legal working age; 

12 ‘‘(5) to protect and promote the inheritance 

13 rights of orphans, other vulnerable children, and 

14 widows; 

15 ‘‘(6) to provide culturally appropriate psycho16 social support to orphans and other vulnerable chil17 dren; and 

18 ‘‘(7) to treat orphans and other vulnerable chil19 dren with HIV/AIDS through the provision of phar20 maceuticals, the recruitment and training of individ21 uals to provide pediatric treatment, and the pur22 chase of pediatric-specific technologies. 

23 ‘‘(d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To maximize the sus25 tainable development impact of assistance authorized 
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1 under this section, and pursuant to the strategy re2 quired in section 4 of the Assistance for Orphans 

3 and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Coun4 tries Act of 2005, the President shall establish a 

5 monitoring and evaluation system to measure the ef6 fectiveness of United States assistance to orphans 

7 and other vulnerable children. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The monitoring and 

9 evaluation system shall—

10 ‘‘(A) establish performance goals for the 

11 assistance and expresses such goals in an objec12 tive and quantifiable form, to the extent fea13 sible; 

14 ‘‘(B) establish performance indicators to be 

15 used in measuring or assessing the achievement 

16 of the performance goals described in subpara17 graph (A); and 

18 ‘‘(C) provide a basis for recommendations 

19 for adjustments to the assistance to enhance 

20 the impact of assistance. 

21 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR ASSISTANCE TO OR22 PHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN.—

23 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

25 State, in consultation with the Administrator of 
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1 the United States Agency for International De2 velopment, shall appoint a Special Advisor for 

3 Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children. 

4 ‘‘(B) DELEGATION.—At the discretion of 

5 the Secretary of State, the authority to appoint 

6 a Special Advisor under subparagraph (A) may 

7 be delegated by the Secretary of State to the 

8 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

9 International Development. 

10 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Special Advi11 sor for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Chil12 dren shall include the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Coordinate assistance to orphans and 

14 other vulnerable children among the various of15 fices, bureaus, and field missions within the 

16 United States Agency for International Devel17 opment. 

18 ‘‘(B) Advise the various offices, bureaus, 

19 and field missions within the United States 

20 Agency for International Development to ensure 

21 that programs approved for assistance under 

22 this section are consistent with best practices, 

23 meet the requirements of this Act, and conform 

24 to the strategy outlined in section 4 of the As-
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1 sistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable 

2 Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005. 

3 ‘‘(C) Advise the various offices, bureaus, 

4 and field missions within the United States 

5 Agency for International Development in devel6 oping any component of their annual plan, as it 

7 relates to assistance for orphans or other vul8 nerable children in developing countries, to en9 sure that each program, project, or activity re10 lating to such assistance is consistent with best 

11 practices, meets the requirements of this Act, 

12 and conforms to the strategy outlined in section 

13 4 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vul14 nerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 

15 2005. 

16 ‘‘(D) Coordinate all United States assist17 ance to orphans and other vulnerable children 

18 among United States departments and agen19 cies, including the provision of assistance relat20 ing to HIV/AIDS authorized under the United 

21 States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuber22 culosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (Public Law 

23 108–25), and the amendments made by such 

24 Act (including section 102 of such Act, and the 
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1 amendments made by such section, relating to 

2 the coordination of HIV/AIDS programs). 

3 ‘‘(E) Establish priorities that promote the 

4 delivery of assistance to the most vulnerable 

5 populations of orphans and children, particu6 larly in those countries with a high rate of HIV 

7 infection among women. 

8 ‘‘(F) Disseminate a collection of best prac9 tices to field missions of the United States 

10 Agency for International Development to guide 

11 the development and implementation of pro12 grams to assist orphans and vulnerable chil13 dren. 

14 ‘‘(G) Administer the monitoring and eval15 uation system established in subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(H) Prepare the annual report required 

17 by section 5 of the Assistance for Orphans and 

18 Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Coun19 tries Act of 2005. 

20 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

22 appropriated to the President to carry out this sec23 tion such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

24 fiscal years 2006 and 2007. 
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1 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

2 available under paragraph (1) are authorized to re3 main available until expended.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STRATEGY.—Not later than 

6 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

7 President shall develop, and transmit to the appropriate 

8 congressional committees, a strategy for coordinating, im9 plementing, and monitoring assistance programs for or10 phans and vulnerable children. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION.—The strategy described in sub12 section (a) should be developed in consultation with the 

13 Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable 

14 Children (appointed pursuant to section 135(e)(1) of the 

15 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 

16 of this Act)) and with employees of the field missions of 

17 the United States Agency for International Development 

18 to ensure that the strategy—

19 (1) will not impede the efficiency of imple20 menting assistance programs for orphans and vul21 nerable children; and 

22 (2) addresses the specific needs of indigenous 

23 populations. 

24 (c) CONTENT.—The strategy required by subsection 

25 (a) shall include—
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1 (1) the identity of each agency or department 

2 of the Federal Government that is providing assist3 ance for orphans and vulnerable children in foreign 

4 countries; 

5 (2) a description of the efforts of the head of 

6 each such agency or department to coordinate the 

7 provision of such assistance with other agencies or 

8 departments of the Federal Government or non9 governmental entities; 

10 (3) a description of a coordinated strategy, in11 cluding coordination with other bilateral and multi12 lateral donors, to provide the assistance authorized 

13 in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

14 1961, as added by section 3 of this Act; 

15 (4) an analysis of additional coordination mech16 anisms or procedures that could be implemented to 

17 carry out the purposes of such section; 

18 (5) a description of a monitoring system that 

19 establishes performance goals for the provision of 

20 such assistance and expresses such goals in an ob21 jective and quantifiable form, to the extent feasible; 

22 and 

23 (6) a description of performance indicators to 

24 be used in measuring or assessing the achievement 

25 of the performance goals described in paragraph (5). 
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1 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

3 on which the President transmits to the appropriate con4 gressional committees the strategy required by section 

5 4(a), and annually thereafter, the President shall transmit 

6 to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 

7 the implementation of this Act and the amendments made 

8 by this Act. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain the fol10 lowing information for grants, cooperative agreements, 

11 contracts, contributions, and other forms of assistance 

12 awarded or entered into under section 135 of the Foreign 

13 Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act): 

14 (1) The amount of funding, the name of recipi15 ent organizations, the location of programs and ac16 tivities, the status of progress of programs and ac17 tivities, and the estimated number of orphans and 

18 other vulnerable children who received direct or indi19 rect assistance under the programs and activities. 

20 (2) The results of the monitoring and evalua21 tion system with respect to assistance for orphans 

22 and other vulnerable children. 

23 (3) The percentage of assistance provided in 

24 support of orphans or other vulnerable children af25 fected by HIV/AIDS. 
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1 (4) Any other appropriate information relating 

2 to the needs of orphans and other vulnerable chil3 dren in developing countries that could be addressed 

4 through the provision of assistance authorized in 

5 section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 

6 as added by section 3 of this Act, or under any other 

7 provision of law. 

8 SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE9 FINED. 

10 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means the Committee on Appropriations and the 

12 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

13 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 

14 International Relations of the House of Representatives.

Passed the House of Representatives October 18, 

2005. 

Attest:

Clerk. 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1409

AN ACT

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to 

other purposes.able children in developing countries, and for provide assistance for orphans and other vulner-