Girls Count Act of 2015
PL 114-24 (S.802), enacted 06/12/2015

129 STAT. 314 
PUBLIC LAW 114–24—JUNE 12, 2015 
Public Law 114–24 
114th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development to provide assistance to support the rights 
of women and girls 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 ‘‘Girls Count Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2013 
international figures, 1 person in 12, or close to 900,000,000 
people, is a girl or young woman age 10 through 24. 
(2) The Census Bureau’s data also illustrates that young 
people are the fastest growing segment of the population in 
developing countries. 
(3) Even though most countries do have birth registration 
laws, four out of ten babies born in 2012 were not registered 
worldwide. Moreover, an estimated 36 percent of children under 
the age of five worldwide (about 230,000,000 children) do not 
possess a birth certificate. 
(4) A nationally recognized proof of birth system is impor-
tant to determining a child’s citizenship, nationality, place of 
birth, parentage, and age. Without such a system, a passport, 
driver’s license, or other identification card is difficult to obtain. 
The lack of such documentation can prevent girls and women 
from officially participating in and benefitting from the formal 
economic, legal, and political sectors in their countries. 
(5) The lack of birth registration among girls worldwide 
is particularly concerning as it can exacerbate the dispropor-
tionate vulnerability of women to trafficking, child marriage, 
and lack of access to health and education services. 
(6) A lack of birth registration among women and girls 
can also aggravate what, in many places, amounts to an already 
reduced ability to seek employment, participate in civil society, 
or purchase or inherit land and other assets. 
(7) Girls undertake much of the domestic labor needed 
for poor families to survive: carrying water, harvesting crops, 
tending livestock, caring for younger children, and doing chores. 
(8) Accurate assessments of access to education, poverty 
levels, and overall census activities are hampered by the lack 
Girls Count Act 
of 2015. 
22 USC 2151 
note. 
June 12, 2015 
[S. 802] 
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129 STAT. 315 
PUBLIC LAW 114–24—JUNE 12, 2015 
of official information on women and girls. Without this rudi-
mentary information, assessments of foreign assistance and 
domestic social welfare programs are difficult to gauge. 
(9) To help ensure that women and girls are considered 
in United States foreign assistance policies and programs, that 
their needs are addressed in the design, implementation, and 
evaluation of foreign assistance programs, and that women 
and girls have the opportunity to succeed, it is important that 
girls be counted and have access to birth certificates and other 
official documentation. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) encourage countries to support the rule of law and 
ensure girls and boys of all ages are able to fully participate 
in society, including by providing birth certifications and other 
official documentation; 
(2) enhance training and capacity-building in key devel-
oping countries, local nongovernmental organizations, and other 
civil society organizations, including faith-based organizations 
and organizations representing children and families in the 
design, implementation, and monitoring of programs under this 
Act, to effectively address the needs of birth registries in coun-
tries where girls are systematically undercounted; and 
(3) incorporate into the design, implementation, and evalua-
tion of policies and programs measures to evaluate the impact 
that such policies and programs have on girls. 
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT COUNTING OF GIRLS 
IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary and the Administrator are 
authorized to prioritize and advance ongoing efforts to— 
(1) support programs that will contribute to improved and 
sustainable Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems 
(CRVS) with a focus on birth registration; 
(2) support programs that build the capacity of developing 
countries’ national and local legal and policy frameworks to 
prevent discrimination against girls in gaining access to birth 
certificates, particularly where this may help prevent exploi-
tation, violence, and other abuse; and 
(3) support programs and key ministries, including, 
interior, youth, and education ministries, to help increase prop-
erty rights, social security, home ownership, land tenure secu-
rity, inheritance rights, access to education, and economic and 
entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly for women and girls. 
(b) COORDINATION WITH MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The 
Secretary and the Administrator are authorized to coordinate with 
the World Bank, relevant United Nations agencies and programs, 
and other relevant organizations to encourage and work with coun-
tries to enact, implement, and enforce laws that specifically collect 
data on girls and establish registration programs to ensure girls 
are appropriately counted and have the opportunity to be active 
participants in the social, legal, and political sectors of society 
in their countries. 
(c) COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR AND CIVIL SOCIETY 
ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary and the Administrator are author-
ized to work with the United States, international, and local private 
sector and civil society organizations to advocate for the registration 
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129 STAT. 316 
PUBLIC LAW 114–24—JUNE 12, 2015 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 802: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 161 (2015): 
May 23, considered and passed Senate. 
June 1, considered and passed House. 
and documentation of all girls and boys in developing countries, 
in order to help prevent exploitation, violence, and other abuses 
and to help provide economic and social opportunities. 
SEC. 5. REPORT. 
The Secretary and the Administrator shall include in relevant 
evaluations and reports to Congress the following information: 
(1) To the extent practicable, a breakdown of United States 
foreign assistance beneficiaries by age, gender, marital status, 
location, and school enrollment status. 
(2) A description, as appropriate, of how United States 
foreign assistance benefits girls. 
(3) Specific information, as appropriate, on programs that 
address the particular needs of girls. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development. 
(2) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘foreign assistance’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 634(b) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394(b)). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of State. 
SEC. 7. SUNSET. 
This Act shall expire on the date that is five years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
Approved June 12, 2015. 
Evaluations. 
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