H. R. 1409
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five 
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assistance for Orphans and 
Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) As of July 2004, there were more than 143,000,000 
children living in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, 
and the Caribbean who were identified as orphans, having 
lost one or both of their parents. Of this number, approximately 
16,200,000 children were identified as double orphans, having 
lost both parents—the vast majority of whom died of AIDS. 
These children often are disadvantaged in numerous and dev-
astating ways and most households with orphans cannot meet 
the basic needs of health care, food, clothing, and educational 
expenses. 
(2) It is estimated that 121,000,000 children worldwide 
do not attend school and that the majority of such children 
are young girls. According to the United Nations Children’s 
Fund (UNICEF), orphans are less likely to be in school and 
more likely to be working full time. 
(3) School food programs, including take-home rations, in 
developing countries provide strong incentives for children to 
remain in school and continue their education. School food 
programs can reduce short-term hunger, improve cognitive func-
tions, and enhance learning, behavior, and achievement. 
(4) Financial barriers, such as school fees and other costs 
of education, prevent many orphans and other vulnerable chil-
dren in developing countries from attending school. Providing 
children with free primary school education, while simulta-
neously ensuring that adequate resources exist for teacher 
training and infrastructure, would help more orphans and other 
vulnerable children obtain a quality education. 
(5) The trauma that results from the loss of a parent 
can trigger behavior problems of aggression or emotional with-
drawal and negatively affect a child’s performance in school 
and the child’s social relations. Children living in families 
affected by HIV/AIDS or who have been orphaned by AIDS
H. R. 1409—2
often face stigmatization and discrimination. Providing cul-
turally appropriate psychosocial support to such children can 
assist them in successfully accepting and adjusting to their 
circumstances. 
(6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in developing 
countries routinely are denied their inheritance or encounter 
difficulties in claiming the land and other property which they 
have inherited. Even when the inheritance rights of women 
and children are spelled out in law, such rights are difficult 
to claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries it is 
difficult or impossible for a widow, even if she has young 
children, to claim property after the death of her husband. 
(7) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a devastating affect 
on children and is deepening poverty in entire communities 
and jeopardizing the health, safety, and survival of all children 
in affected areas. 
(8) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the number 
of orphans worldwide and has exacerbated the poor living condi-
tions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children. AIDS 
has created an unprecedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-
Saharan Africa, where children have been hardest hit. An 
estimated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or both parents to 
AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 25,000,000 children 
will have been orphaned by AIDS. 
(9) Approximately 2,500,000 children under the age of 15 
worldwide have HIV/AIDS. Every day another 2,000 children 
under the age of 15 are infected with HIV. Without treatment, 
most children born with HIV can expect to die by age two, 
but with sustained drug treatment through childhood, the 
chances of long-term survival and a productive adulthood 
improve dramatically. 
(10) Few international development programs specifically 
target the treatment of children with HIV/AIDS in developing 
countries. Reasons for this include the perceived low priority 
of pediatric treatment, a lack of pediatric health care profes-
sionals, lack of expertise and experience in pediatric drug dosing 
and monitoring, the perceived complexity of pediatric treat-
ment, and mistaken beliefs regarding the risks and benefits 
of pediatric treatment. 
(11) Although a number of organizations seek to meet 
the needs of orphans or other vulnerable children, extended 
families and local communities continue to be the primary 
providers of support for such children. 
(12) The HIV/AIDS pandemic is placing huge burdens on 
communities and is leaving many orphans with little support. 
Alternatives to traditional orphanages, such as community-
based resource centers, continue to evolve in response to the 
massive number of orphans that has resulted from the pan-
demic. 
(13) The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has 
implications for political stability, human welfare, and develop-
ment that extend far beyond the region, affecting governments 
and people worldwide, and this crisis requires an accelerated 
response from the international community. 
(14) Although section 403(b) of the United States Leader-
ship Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 
(22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) establishes the requirement that not less
H. R. 1409—3
than 10 percent of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS assist-
ance for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall be 
expended for assistance for orphans and other vulnerable chil-
dren affected by HIV/AIDS, there is an urgent need to provide 
assistance to such children prior to 2006. 
(15) Numerous United States and indigenous private vol-
untary organizations, including faith-based organizations, pro-
vide assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in 
developing countries. Many of these organizations have sub-
mitted applications for grants to the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development to provide 
increased levels of assistance for orphans and other vulnerable 
children in developing countries. 
(16) Increasing the amount of assistance that is provided 
by the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development through United States and indigenous 
private voluntary organizations, including faith-based organiza-
tions, will provide greater protection for orphans and other 
vulnerable children in developing countries. 
(17) It is essential that the United States Government 
adopt a comprehensive approach for the provision of assistance 
to orphans and other vulnerable children in developing coun-
tries. A comprehensive approach would ensure that important 
services, such as basic care, psychosocial support, school food 
programs, increased educational opportunities and employment 
training and related services, the protection and promotion 
of inheritance rights for such children, and the treatment of 
orphans and other vulnerable children with HIV/AIDS, are 
made more accessible. 
(18) Assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children 
can best be provided by a comprehensive approach of the United 
States Government that—
(A) ensures that Federal agencies and the private 
sector coordinate efforts to prevent and eliminate duplica-
tion of efforts and waste in the provision of such assistance; 
and 
(B) to the maximum extent possible, focuses on commu-
nity-based programs that allow orphans and other vulner-
able children to remain connected to the traditions and 
rituals of their families and communities. 
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHIL-
DREN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 
Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following section: 
‘‘SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHIL-
DREN. 
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
‘‘(1) There are more than 143,000,000 orphans living sub-
Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Of 
this number, approximately 16,200,000 children have lost both 
parents. 
‘‘(2) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has created an unprecedented 
orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where children 
have been hardest hit. The pandemic is deepening poverty 
in entire communities, and is jeopardizing the health, safety,
H. R. 1409—4
and survival of all children in affected countries. It is estimated 
that 14,000,000 children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. 
‘‘(3) The orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has implica-
tions for human welfare, development, and political stability 
that extend far beyond the region, affecting governments and 
people worldwide. 
‘‘(4) Extended families and local communities are struggling 
to meet the basic needs of orphans and vulnerable children 
by providing food, health care including treatment of children 
living with HIV/AIDS, education expenses, and clothing. 
‘‘(5) Famines, natural disasters, chronic poverty, ongoing 
conflicts, and civil wars in developing countries are adversely 
affecting children in these countries, the vast majority of whom 
currently do not receive humanitarian assistance or other sup-
port from the United States. 
‘‘(6) The United States Government administers various 
assistance programs for orphans and other vulnerable children 
in developing countries. In order to improve targeting and 
programming of resources, the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development should develop methods to adequately 
track the overall number of orphans and other vulnerable chil-
dren receiving assistance, the kinds of programs for such chil-
dren by sector and location, and any other such related data 
and analysis. 
‘‘(7) The United States Agency for International Develop-
ment should improve its capabilities to deliver assistance to 
orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries 
through partnerships with private volunteer organizations, 
including community and faith-based organizations. 
‘‘(8) The United States Agency for International Develop-
ment should be the primary United States Government agency 
responsible for identifying and assisting orphans and other 
vulnerable children in developing countries. 
‘‘(9) Providing assistance to such children is an important 
expression of the humanitarian concern and tradition of the 
people of the United States. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) AIDS.—The term ‘AIDS’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 104A(g)(1) of this Act. 
‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—The term ‘children’ means persons who 
have not attained 18 years of age. 
‘‘(3) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘HIV/AIDS’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 104A(g)(3) of this Act. 
‘‘(4) ORPHAN.—The term ‘orphan’ means a child deprived 
by death of one or both parents. 
‘‘(5) PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.—The term ‘psychosocial sup-
port’ includes care that addresses the ongoing psychological 
and social problems that affect individuals, their partners, fami-
lies, and caregivers in order to alleviate suffering, strengthen 
social ties and integration, provide emotional support, and pro-
mote coping strategies. 
‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to provide assist-
ance, including providing such assistance through international or 
nongovernmental organizations, for programs in developing coun-
tries to provide basic care and services for orphans and other 
vulnerable children. Such programs should provide assistance—