Children & Youth

Children and youth constitute over half of the world’s population and are the majority population in many countries. This increases the urgency of prioritizing the lives of millions of young people who have witnessed setbacks to decades of progress in their countries due to the recent cycle of global crises (such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, mounting food insecurity, and ongoing conflicts).

U.S. foreign assistance funding, policies, and programs must recognize the interconnected needs of children and youth regardless of where they live. Young people need to be supported at every stage of their lives to achieve their full potential. Programs and policies must invest in their most critical needs because the health, wellbeing, and economic security of an entire generation of children and youth are at stake.

Fast Facts

• In low- and middle-income countries, 70% of 10-year-olds cannot read a simple sentence, potentially costing this generation of students $11 trillion of their lifetime earnings.
• Department of Labor projects rescued close to 2 million children from the worst forms of child labor and provided them with an education.
• In the past 10 years, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) focus on preventable deaths saved the lives of more than 9.3 million children and 340,000 women.
• U.S. foreign assistance provided 27,756,461 children with family tracing and reunification and 1,797,650 parents/caregivers with psychosocial support.

Key U.S. Legislation, Policies & Programs

Legislation:

• Public Law 109-95: The Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act (P.L. 109-95)
• Global Child Thrive Act

Policies:

• Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity
• USAID Youth in Development Policy

Programs:

• Basic Education
  • Education Cannot Wait (ECW)
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
• Maternal and Child Health
  • Maternal and newborn childcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
  • Immunization programs via Gavi and the global plan for polio eradication
  • Health systems strengthening in 69 countries
• Vulnerable Children
  • Support for children living in conflict zones, experiencing extreme poverty, or experiencing loss of primary and secondary caregivers [Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program]