Sec. 5. Implementation of foreign assistance projects, programs, and activities
307 words·~1 min read·
/bill/117/hr/1661/ih/section-5A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall implement United States foreign assistance projects, programs, and activities designed to strengthen the participation of adolescents, particularly adolescent girls, in democracy, human rights, and governance, including— increasing adolescent girls’ civic and political knowledge and foundational skills, advocacy, confidence, leadership and research skills, leadership opportunities, intergenerational mentorship opportunities, data and media literacy, and supporting their meaningful political participation and engagement in civil society and the public sphere; addressing barriers to adolescent girls’ and women’s civic engagement and political participation, and integrating engagement of men and boys, families, community leaders, religious leaders, schools, political bodies, government bodies, and other stakeholders to improve the enabling environment for adolescent girls’ civic and political participation; identifying and taking into account other barriers to adolescent girls’ civic and political engagement, including child, early and forced marriage, access to quality primary and secondary education, unequal childcare responsibilities, gender-based violence, early pregnancy and motherhood, adolescent maternal mortality, mobility constraints, malnourishment, displacement, lack of safe and reliable female sanitation and hygiene facilities, harmful social norms, HIV infection, physical, communication, and attitudinal barriers faced by adolescent girls with disabilities, and discrimination based on religious or ethnic identity; integrating feedback from program participants into the monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes of relevant United States departments or agencies; supporting girl-led and girl-focused civil society organizations with flexible, sustainable funding and technical support; targeted efforts to increase work with partner country governments, alongside local civil-society organizations, and to build greater allyship among men and boys for adolescent girls; ensuring age-appropriate and gender-sensitive child-safeguarding provisions for all programs that engage participants under the age of 18; and ensuring adolescents, particularly adolescent girls, are provided opportunities and empowering environments so that they successfully enter adulthood with skills which empower their leadership within their communities or governments.