22 U.S.C. § 2152f : US Code - Section 2152F: Assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children

Search 22 U.S.C. § 2152f : US Code - Section 2152F: Assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children

(a) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1) There are more than 143,000,000 orphans living (!1) 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, 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 implications
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 support
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 International Development
should develop methods to adequately track the overall number of
orphans and other vulnerable 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 International Development
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 Development
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 2151b-
2(g)(1) of this title.
(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
2151b-2(g)(3) of this title.
(4) Orphan
The term "orphan" means a child deprived by death of one or
both parents.
(5) Psychosocial support
The term "psychosocial 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 promote 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 establishment 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 appropriate;
(3) to increase primary school enrollment through the
elimination of school fees, where appropriate, or other barriers
to education while ensuring that adequate resources exist for
teacher training and infrastructure;
(4) to provide employment training and related services for
orphans and other vulnerable children 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 psychosocial support to
orphans and other vulnerable children; and
(7) to treat orphans and other vulnerable children with
HIV/AIDS through the provision of pharmaceuticals, the
recruitment and training of individuals to provide pediatric
treatment, and the purchase of pediatric-specific technologies.
(d) Monitoring and evaluation
(1) Establishment
To maximize the sustainable development impact of assistance
authorized under this section, and pursuant to the strategy
required in section 4 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other
Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005, the
President shall establish a monitoring and evaluation system to
measure the effectiveness of United States assistance to orphans
and other vulnerable children.
(2) Requirements
The monitoring and evaluation system shall -
(A) establish performance goals for the assistance and
expresses (!2) such goals in an objective and quantifiable
form, to the extent feasible;
(B) establish performance indicators to be used in measuring
or assessing the achievement of the performance goals described
in subparagraph (A); and
(C) provide a basis for recommendations for adjustments to
the assistance to enhance the impact of assistance.
(e) Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable
Children
(1) Appointment
(A) In general
The Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall appoint a Special Advisor for Assistance to
Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
(B) Delegation
At the discretion of the Secretary of State, the authority to
appoint a Special Advisor under subparagraph (A) may be
delegated by the Secretary of State to the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development.
(2) Duties
The duties of the Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and
Vulnerable Children shall include the following:
(A) Coordinate assistance to orphans and other vulnerable
children among the various offices, bureaus, and field missions
within the United States Agency for International Development.
(B) Advise the various offices, bureaus, and field missions
within the United States Agency for International Development
to ensure that programs approved for assistance under this
section are consistent with best practices, meet the
requirements of this chapter, and conform to the strategy
outlined in section 4 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other
Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005.
(C) Advise the various offices, bureaus, and field missions
within the United States Agency for International Development
in developing any component of their annual plan, as it relates
to assistance for orphans or other vulnerable children in
developing countries, to ensure that each program, project, or
activity relating to such assistance is consistent with best
practices, meets the requirements of this chapter, and conforms
to the strategy outlined in section 4 of the Assistance for
Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries
Act of 2005.
(D) Coordinate all United States assistance to orphans and
other vulnerable children among United States departments and
agencies, including the provision of assistance relating to
HIV/AIDS authorized under the United States Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-
25) [22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.], and the amendments made by such
Act (including section 102 of such Act, and the amendments made
by such section, relating to the coordination of HIV/AIDS
programs).
(E) Establish priorities that promote the delivery of
assistance to the most vulnerable populations of orphans and
children, particularly in those countries with a high rate of
HIV infection among women.
(F) Disseminate a collection of best practices to field
missions of the United States Agency for International
Development to guide the development and implementation of
programs to assist orphans and vulnerable children.
(G) Administer the monitoring and evaluation system
established in subsection (d) of this section.
(H) Prepare the annual report required by section 2152g of
this title.
(f) Authorization of appropriations
(1) In general
There is authorized to be appropriated to the President to
carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of
the fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
(2) Availability of funds
Amounts made available under paragraph (1) are authorized to
remain available until expended.