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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 or-
phans, having lost both parents—the vast majority 
of whom died of AIDS. These children often are dis-
advantaged in numerous and devastating 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 major-
ity of such children are young girls. According to the 
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), or-
phans 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 incen-
tives for children to remain in school and continue 
their education. School food programs can reduce 
short-term hunger, improve cognitive functions, and 
enhance learning, behavior, and achievement. 
(4) Financial barriers, such as school fees and 
other costs of education, prevent many orphans and 
other vulnerable children in developing countries 
from attending school. Providing children with free 
primary school education, while simultaneously en-
suring that adequate resources exist for teacher 
training and infrastructure, would help more or-
phans 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 withdrawal 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 
often face stigmatization and discrimination. Pro-
viding culturally appropriate psychosocial support to 
such children can assist them in successfully accept-
ing and adjusting to their circumstances. 
(6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in 
developing countries routinely are denied their inher-
itance 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 dev-
astating 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 conditions of the world’s poorest and 
most vulnerable children. AIDS has created an un-
precedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan 
Africa, where children have been hardest hit. An es-
timated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or both par-
ents 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 an-
other 2,000 children under the age of 15 are in-
fected 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 treat-
ment, a lack of pediatric health care professionals, 
lack of expertise and experience in pediatric drug 
dosing and monitoring, the perceived complexity of 
pediatric treatment, 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 or-
phans with little support. Alternatives to traditional 
orphanages, such as community-based resource cen-
ters, 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 development 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 Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 
and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) estab-
lishes the requirement that not less than 10 percent 
of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS assistance 
for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall be 
expended for assistance for orphans and other vul-
nerable children 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 voluntary organizations, including faith-
based organizations, provide assistance to orphans 
and other vulnerable children in developing coun-
tries. Many of these organizations have submitted 
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 coun-
tries. 
(16) Increasing the amount of assistance that is 
provided by the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development through 
United States and indigenous private voluntary or-
ganizations, including faith-based organizations, will 
provide greater protection for orphans and other vul-
nerable children in developing countries. 
(17) It is essential that the United States Gov-
ernment adopt a comprehensive approach for the 
provision of assistance to orphans and other vulner-
able children in developing countries. A comprehen-
sive 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 pro-
tection 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 vulner-
able children can best be provided by a comprehen-
sive approach of the United States Government 
that—
(A) ensures that Federal agencies and the 
private sector coordinate efforts to prevent and 
eliminate duplication of efforts and waste in the 
provision of such assistance; and 
(B) to the maximum extent possible, fo-
cuses on community-based programs that allow 
orphans and other vulnerable children to re-
main connected to the traditions and rituals of 
their families and communities. 
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNER-
ABLE 
CHILDREN 
IN 
DEVELOPING 
COUN-
TRIES. 
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 VUL-
NERABLE CHILDREN. 
‘‘(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-Saha-
ran Africa, where children have been hardest hit. 
The pandemic is deepening poverty in entire commu-
nities, and is jeopardizing the health, safety, and 
survival of all children in affected countries. It is es-
timated that 14,000,000 children have lost one or 
both parents to AIDS. 
‘‘(3) The orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa 
has implications for human welfare, development, 
and political stability that extend far beyond the re-
gion, 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 pov-
erty, 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 support 
from the United States. 
‘‘(6) The United States Government admin-
isters various assistance programs for orphans and
other vulnerable children in developing countries. In 
order to improve targeting and programming of re-
sources, the United States Agency for International 
Development should develop methods to adequately 
track the overall number of orphans and other vul-
nerable children receiving assistance, the kinds of 
programs for such children by sector and location, 
and any other such related data and analysis. 
‘‘(7) The United States Agency for Inter-
national Development should improve its capabilities 
to deliver assistance to orphans and other vulnerable 
children in developing countries through partner-
ships with private volunteer organizations, including 
community and faith-based organizations. 
‘‘(8) The United States Agency for Inter-
national Development should be the primary United 
States Government agency responsible for identi-
fying 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 ‘psy-
chosocial support’ includes care that addresses the 
ongoing psychological and social problems that affect 
individuals, their partners, families, 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 assistance, including providing such assistance 
through international or nongovernmental organizations, 
for programs in developing countries to provide basic care 
and services for orphans and other vulnerable children. 
Such programs should provide assistance—
‘‘(1) to support families and communities to 
mobilize their own resources through the establish-
ment of community-based organizations to provide 
basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children;
‘‘(2) for school food programs, including the 
purchase of local or regional foodstuffs where appro-
priate; 
‘‘(3) to increase primary school enrollment 
through the elimination of school fees, where appro-
priate, or other barriers to education while ensuring 
that adequate resources exist for teacher training 
and infrastructure; 
‘‘(4) to provide employment training and re-
lated services for orphans and other vulnerable chil-
dren who are of legal working age; 
‘‘(5) to protect and promote the inheritance 
rights of orphans, other vulnerable children, and 
widows; 
‘‘(6) to provide culturally appropriate psycho-
social support to orphans and other vulnerable chil-
dren; and 
‘‘(7) to treat orphans and other vulnerable chil-
dren with HIV/AIDS through the provision of phar-
maceuticals, the recruitment and training of individ-
uals to provide pediatric treatment, and the pur-
chase of pediatric-specific technologies. 
‘‘(d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To maximize the sus-
tainable development impact of assistance authorized