; Whereas recognizing the need for data and evidence to guide actions to end violence against children, the CDC partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund (referred to in this resolution as UNICEF ) Swaziland (now Eswatini) and the Government of Eswatini to develop and implement the scientifically sound surveillance tool, Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (referred to in this resolution as VACS ); Whereas VACS are nationally representative household surveys designed to define the magnitude, nature, and consequences of sexual, physical, and emotional violence among children and adolescents; Whereas the governments of 22 nations including 14 African nations (Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) demonstrated leadership in addressing the pandemic of sexual violence against girls through the implementation of VACS with technical support from the CDC and coordination from multistakeholders including UNICEF, Together for Girls, and others; Whereas VACS data from over 30,000 respondents in Africa revealed— (1) over 25 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 years; (2) for 1 in 4 girls, their first sexual intercourse experience was forced or coerced; (3) the most common perpetrators of sexual violence are people known to the victims; (4) only about half of the victims of childhood sexual violence tell anyone; (5) fewer than 10 percent of assaulted girls and 7 percent of assaulted boys sought care services and received them; (6) 1 of 3 girls who experienced unwanted sex became pregnant before the age of 18 years; (7) two-thirds of boys who experience sexual violence report mental distress later in life; and (8) sexual violence against children and adolescents was associated with a 370-percent increase in the incidence of HIV infection, a 350-percent increase in the incidence of unwanted pregnancies, and a 200-percent increase in attempted suicide