[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 853 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 853

  Calling on the United States and international donors to prioritize 
   children, including the efforts of UNICEF, in COVID-19 rebuilding 
                                efforts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2021

 Ms. Jacobs of California (for herself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Calling on the United States and international donors to prioritize 
   children, including the efforts of UNICEF, in COVID-19 rebuilding 
                                efforts.

Whereas globally, children have carried the heaviest burdens of the COVID-19 
        pandemic and the resulting economic crisis;
Whereas during the pandemic, approximately 80 million children under 18 were 
        unable to access critical vaccines;
Whereas school closures due to the pandemic have affected 1.6 billion children, 
        and at least one-third of children globally have been unable to access 
        remote learning;
Whereas globally, there are 31 countries unprepared for remote learning, almost 
        half of which kept their schools closed for at least half of the COVID-
        19 pandemic, leaving 102 million students without any form of education;
Whereas 1.8 billion children have faced increased risk of forced labor, sexual 
        exploitation, and abuse;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated physical and sexual violence 
        against girls;
Whereas the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that the pandemic 
        will push 142 million children into poverty, most of whom are in sub-
        Saharan Africa and South Asia;
Whereas COVID-related loss of income and the lack of job resources have 
        increased the youths' vulnerability to recruitment in armed groups or 
        banditry gangs in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, and Nigeria;
Whereas an estimated 4.9 million children worldwide have lost a parent, 
        custodial grandparent, or primary caregiver because of the pandemic;
Whereas the mental health of children living in conflict-affected regions is 
        severely deteriorating as a direct result of the socioeconomic hardships 
        of COVID-19;
Whereas the United States leads the world in sharing COVID-19 vaccines, 
        committing to share over 1.1 billion doses with countries around the 
        world, and has already shipped more than 225 million doses to over 100 
        countries;
Whereas lower income countries still struggle to receive needed COVID-19 
        vaccines and supplies like oxygen and syringes;
Whereas the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
        estimates that the pandemic could increase the number of acutely food 
        insecure people to 270 million;
Whereas the World Bank estimated that in 2020, an additional 19 to 30 million 
        people were pushed into extreme poverty in conflict-affected countries;
Whereas government responses and economic impacts of COVID-19 are estimated to 
        ignite conflict in 13 more countries by 2022;
Whereas African countries in particular have largely been left without access to 
        COVID-19 vaccines, with less than 5 percent of the African population 
        being fully vaccinated;
Whereas, for 75 years, UNICEF has worked tirelessly to support the rights and 
        well-being of every child, in partnership with the United States, and 
        has provided relief for children and adolescents in war-ravaged 
        countries and for child health purposes generally, and to provide, 
        without discrimination, assistance to vulnerable children around the 
        world;
Whereas UNICEF has worked with partners such as Rotary International, Kiwanis 
        International, the American Red Cross, and Lions Club International to 
        decrease child mortality rates by more than half since 1990 and to 
        provide critical health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and education 
        services and supplies for millions of children; and
Whereas UNICEF plays a key role in the United Nations global response to the 
        COVID-19 crisis including by delivering vaccines, medicines, and other 
        supplies around the world, particularly for vulnerable populations, 
        providing personal protective equipment and facilitating training on 
        infection prevention and control for health workers: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls on the United States to increase support for and 
        work with international partners, including the United Nations 
        Children's Fund (UNICEF), Education Cannot Wait, and the Global 
        Partnership for Education, to address the education and health 
        needs of every child as the world recovers and rebuilds from 
        the global pandemic;
            (2) urges the Department of State, the United States Agency 
        for International Development, and other agencies to work with 
        UNICEF and other partners to reimagine basic education programs 
        in foreign assistance, to ensure access across childhood from 
        the earliest years through adolescence to early childhood 
        interventions, basic education services, modern tools and 
        learning platforms including online, and youth skills-building 
        programs that lead to career opportunities;
            (3) urges the United States Government to reinforce its 
        diplomatic efforts with the international community to increase 
        global support for the pandemic response in low- and middle-
        income countries, especially to promote greater vaccine equity 
        across sub-Saharan Africa; and
            (4) urges the United States to support Giga, a global 
        initiative to connect every school to the internet and every 
        young person to educational resources and opportunities.
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