USAID takes a holistic and comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of children and youth across all ages and stages of development. In order to streamline reporting and reduce redundancies, USAID submits this stand-alone Youth Report for Fiscal Year 2023 that focuses on programming benefiting Youth (ages 10-29). 

This report provides a snapshot of results supported by Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funding and a description of the mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation, structure, human resources, and budgeting that make this work possible. USAID tracks youth-related programming through annual reports on budget obligations in the FactsInfo system as well as through descriptions of youth programming in the Youth Development Key Narrative. As cross-sectoral youth activities increase, USAID is strengthening our tracking of youth-related activities across all sectors through Mission annual reporting.

USAID’s updated Youth in Development Policy (“the Policy”) guides programming in this area toward an overarching goal: Increase the meaningful participation of youth within their communities, schools, organizations, economies, peer groups, and families, enhancing their skills, providing opportunities, and fostering healthy relationships so they may build on their collective leadership. In pursuit of this vision, the Policy puts forward three related objectives:

1. Access: Youth are better able to access high-quality information, safe services, and livelihood opportunities and build the skills they need to lead healthy, productive, and engaged lives.
2. Participation: Youth have the right to fully participate in decision-making as key partners to contribute to individual, household, community, and national well-being.
3. Systems: Youth have a stronger collective voice in, and are better served by, local and national systems through more coordinated and effective services, practices, and policies that embody the principles of Positive Youth Development.

Today, USAID is a global leader in youth programming. They work across sectors and in partnership with other U.S. government (USG) departments and agencies, the private sector, national governments, and civil-society, faith-based, and youth-led organizations around the world to assist young people in their transition from childhood to adulthood.

At the foundation of USAID’s youth efforts is an approach called “Positive Youth Development” (PYD), an evidence-based framework that ensures meaningful opportunities for youth to contribute to resolving challenges and promoting positive change in their own communities and countries. To achieve the objectives of the Policy, USAID invested approximately $296 million in funding from Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 in youth programming and approximately 1.3 million youth learned a broad set of skills including management, leadership, social, and/or civic-engagement skills.