Vulnerable Children

Description

The Vulnerable Children account supports children who experience serious deprivation and danger, and includes those who: are living outside of family care; have been trafficked; are experiencing violence; are affected by humanitarian crises; have disabilities; are orphans; or are otherwise vulnerable because of HIV/AIDS, acute illness, or premature birth. USAID houses the U.S. Government Special Advisor on Children in Adversity, which coordinates the whole-of-government effort to support vulnerable children as outlined in the U.S. Government Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity Strategy (APCCA). The Strategy has three main objectives: build strong beginnings for children, put family care first, and protect children from violence.

Use of Funds

The Vulnerable Children account finances programming that reduces risk to vulnerable children worldwide by delivering essential, life-saving services and increasing governments’ capacity to assess and monitor child care systems.

Justification

• As of February 2022, nearly 7 million children lost a primary or secondary caregiver due to COVID-19.
• Each year, 1 billion children aged 2 to 17 years experience some form of physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect. According to UNICEF, 1.8 billion children live in 104 countries where violence prevention and response services have now been disrupted due to COVID-19.
• 426 million of the world’s children currently live in areas affected by conflict, and more than 274 million people—half of them children—will need some form of humanitarian assistance this year, up from 235 million in 2021, an 11% increase in less than a year.
• Investments in children facing adversity have a high return. Current evidence suggests that each additional dollar invested in quality early childhood programs yields a return of between $6 and $17.