• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education by 2015
  Currently, the net school enrollment rate in SSA is approaching 60%. Only 66% of those who enroll - or 40% of all children - complete 5th grade. OVC in general, have considerably lower enrollment rates than their local peers. For example, orphans' enrollment rate is 82% of that of their peers (State of the World's Children, table 5), while street children and children in the worst forms of child labor rarely go to school at all. If OVC indeed constitute 20% of SSA children, and assuming that they on average have 1/3 the enrollment rate of non-OVC (20%), OVC would represent 40% of the 120 million children who are not currently enrolled. In addition, OVC are likely to have higher dropout rates than average due to poverty, heavy workloads, or lack of parental follow-up. Because educational programs often overlook the particular needs of OVC, specific interventions targeted to OVC are required if to achieve UPE by 2015 (see education section).
  
  
• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality by 2/3 by 2015
  Under-five mortality rates (U5MR) in SSA are currently averaging 175‰ (per 1000) , and will need to be reduced to 58‰ in accordance with the MDGs. OVC generally have higher mortality rates than average due to greater exposure to diseases and accidents, neglect, abandonment and even infanticide. In the case of OVC under 5, we only include the sub-groups of children living with a disability, and those affected by AIDS and war for our estimate because street children and child laborers normally are older than 5. Assuming that 15% of SSA children under 5 are OVC, and also assuming that their U5MR is 400‰ (a figure found in post-conflict countries), they would represent 1/3 of U5 deaths (see OVC PowerPoint presentation).
  
  

Indirect importance:

• Goal 1: Halve the proportion of people who live on less than $1 a day by 2015
  Currently 43% of SSA's population lives on less than $1 per day, and at least half of them are children. If no adequate interventions are developed today to support the most vulnerable children and their families, OVC will have slim chances to escape from extreme poverty in the future (see section on Economic Argument). In addition, because poverty is often transmitted from one generation to another, intervening now is crucial to achieving and sustaining a long-term poverty reduction.
  
  
• Goal 3: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005
  Being an OVC and a girl is by many perceived to be a double stigma, multiplying the risk of educational loss and exposure to abuse. Because, child domestic service is the largest commercial workplace for female children in the region, a special focus on reducing child domestic servitude and increasing the schooling of the many girls who are likely to become or remain servants will be necessary to close the gender gap.
  
  
• Goal 5: Reduce maternal mortality rate by 3/4 by 2015
  Teen mothers are twice as likely as older women to die of pregnancy-related causes, and their own children are at higher risk of illness and death (see Adolescent Health at a Glance). With limited information, protection and supervision, OVC girls are at a very high risk for early pregnancy. They are often in poor health, and their economic situation strongly reduces the likelihood that they will seek medical assistance during pregnancy and delivery, all factors which increase their already high risk of maternal mortality.
  
  
• Goal 6: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other major diseases by 2015
  High risk of sexual abuse and unsupervised, irresponsible sexual behavior make many OVC a special public health risk group. OVC are also believed to be neglected in many health immunization campaigns, maintaining the livelihood of viruses and the continued dependency on immunization.