Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1696590886694.pdf (United States)
I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4693 To advance targeted and evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of global malnutrition and to improve the coordination of such programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 26, 2021 Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. KIM of California, and Ms. HOULAHAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To advance targeted and evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of global malnutrition and to improve the coordination of such programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1.

SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021’’.

 SEC.

2.
2.

AUTHORIZATION OF EFFORTS TO PREVENT AND TREAT MALNUTRITION GLOBALLY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina- tion with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, is authorized and encouraged to support ef- forts to prevent and treat malnutrition globally, including by— (1) targeting resources and nutrition interven- tions to support the most vulnerable populations susceptible to severe malnutrition, including children under the age of 5 and pregnant and lactating women; (2) increasing coverage, particularly in priority countries, of nutrition interventions that include co- ordinated deployment of prenatal nutrient supple- ments, breastfeeding support, vitamin A supplemen- tation, specialized nutritious food products for the treatment of acute malnutrition, and other evidence- based interventions, as appropriate; (3) increasing the use of context and country- appropriate fortification of staples and condiments with essential nutrients; (4) advancing evidence-based programs and interventions carried out using data-driven ap- proaches, best practices, and targeted to country- specific contexts and needs; •HR 4693 IH (5) supporting partner governments to develop policies to prevent and treat malnutrition; (6) leveraging investments to strengthen health systems, including to support community health workers to advance improved nutrition outcomes; (7) improve diets through safe, affordable, nu- tritious foods in the food system; and (8) ensuring rigorous monitoring and evaluation of such efforts.
(b) EXTERNAL COORDINATION EFFORTS RELATED TO NUTRITION PROGRAMS.—The Administrator, in co- ordination with the heads of other relevant Federal de- partments and agencies, should coordinate, as appro- priate, with bilateral and multilateral donors, governments of partner countries, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based organizations, and the private sector to pre- vent and treat malnutrition globally, including by sup- porting efforts to— 20 21 22 23 (1) build the capacity of local and community- based organizations and governments of partner countries to ensure sustainability of nutrition inter- ventions; •HR 4693 IH (2) expand research and innovation to identify and increase effective and evidence-based nutrition interventions based on country-specific contexts; (3) improve coordination and structure of sup- ply chains for nutrition interventions; (4) expand domestic resource mobilization and domestic financing for nutrition interventions; and (5) seek to leverage additional resources and encourage investment into innovative and multi- stakeholder finance partnerships to advance burden sharing in nutrition-related assistance.
(c) INTERAGENCY EFFORTS.—In carrying out sub- sections (a) and (b), the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, consistent with the Global Nutrition Coordina- tion Plan, shall seek to leverage additional resources to prevent and treat malnutrition globally, including by— (1) increasing cooperation among relevant Fed- eral departments and agencies represented in the Global Nutrition Coordination Plan to better lever- age grants, technical assistance, debt, equity, loan guaranties, and public-private partnerships; and (2) utilizing the Administrator’s role as a mem- ber of the Board of Directors of the United States International Development Finance Corporation to •HR 4693 IH consider opportunities within the Corporation’s de- velopment impact framework that support improved nutrition outcomes.
SEC.

3.

SELECTION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina- tion with the Nutrition Leadership Council, shall select foreign countries as priority countries for purposes of tar- geting programs to prevent and treat malnutrition glob- ally.

(b) CRITERIA.—The selection of priority countries under subsection (a) shall be based on the following: (1) The prevalence of severe malnutrition among children under the age of 5 and pregnant and lactating women.
(2) The presence of high-need, underserved, marginalized, vulnerable, or impoverished commu- nities.

(3) The enabling environment for improved nu- trition, including presence of national nutrition plans and demonstration of strong political commitment.

(4) Any other criteria that the Administrator determines to be appropriate.
(c) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall update the selection of priority countries under subsection (a) not •HR 4693 IH later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 6 Act.
(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- gress that the Administrator should continue to undertake nutrition interventions in countries not selected as priority countries, particularly in contexts in which opportunities are identified to advance multi-sectoral development pro- gramming and integrate efforts to prevent and treat global malnutrition with other priority areas and program objec- tives.

11 SEC.

4.

NUTRITION LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.


(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator is author- ized to establish in the United States Agency for Inter- national Development the Nutrition Leadership Council (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’), which shall coordinate Agency efforts to prevent and treat malnutri- 17 tion globally.
18 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Council shall in- 19 clude— (1) advancing United States Agency for Inter- national Development efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition globally; (2) ensuring nutrition interventions, particu- larly in priority countries, are carried out in close coordination with other relevant United States Gov- •HR 4693 IH ernment strategies and policies and provisions of law, including— (A) the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C.
9301 et seq.

); (B) the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C.

2151 note); (C) the Global Child Thrive Act of 2020 (subtitle I of title XII of division A of Public Law 116–283); and (D) the Global Fragility Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C.

9801 et seq.

); and (3) ensuring nutrition interventions are coordi- nated with nutrition programs carried out by other relevant Federal departments and agencies.
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall include rep- resentatives of the following bureaus and independent of- fices of the United States Agency for International Devel- opment: (1) The Bureau for Global Health.

(2) The Bureau for Resilience and Food Secu- rity.

(3) The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

(4) Any other relevant bureau or independent office that the Administrator determines to be ap- propriate.
•HR 4693 IH SEC.

5.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.


8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 260 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal de- partments and agencies, shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan for programs to prevent and treat malnutrition glob- ally described in section 2.
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The implementa- tion plan required by subsection (a) shall include the fol- 11 lowing: (1) A description of specific and measurable goals, objectives, and performance metrics with re- spect to such programs, including clear benchmarks and intended timelines for achieving such goals and objectives.

(2) A description of monitoring and evaluation plans with respect to such programs, as appropriate.
(3) In priority countries, a description of efforts to ensure that nutrition is adequately addressed in the Country Development Cooperation Strategy to the extent practicable and identify opportunities to expand efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition, in- cluding through leveraging existing health and devel- opment programs and other ongoing activities.
•HR 4693 IH (c) CONSULTATION.—The implementation plan re- quired by subsection (a) shall be developed in consultation with, as appropriate and to the extent possible, representa- tives of nongovernmental organizations, including faith- based organizations, civil society organizations, multilat- eral organizations and donors, relevant private, academic, and philanthropic entities, and the appropriate congres- sional committees.
SEC.

6.

REPORT.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Administrator shall submit to the appro- priate congressional committees a report that describes progress made towards preventing and treating malnutri- tion globally.
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re- quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) A summary of progress made towards achieving the specific and measurable goals, objec- tives, and performance metrics towards ending glob- al malnutrition.
(2) In priority countries— (A) a detailed summary of nutrition pro- grams and activities in the previous fiscal year, including a breakdown of the countries to which •HR 4693 IH 10 nutrition resources have been allocated and an estimated number of people reached through nutrition interventions; and (B) an description of the coordination of nutrition programs with other health and devel- opment programs and priorities.
(3) A summary of efforts to expand research and innovation to development and scale up new tools to prevent and treat malnutrition globally.

(4) An assessment of the collaboration and co- ordination of nutrition efforts of the United States Agency for International Development with United Nations agencies, the World Bank, other donor gov- ernments, host country governments, civil society, and the private sector, as appropriate.
(5) A description of other donor country and host country financial commitments and efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition.

(6) An identification of constraints on imple- mentation of programs and activities and lessons learned from programs and activities from the pre- vious fiscal years.
(c) INCLUSION IN OTHER REPORTS.—The Adminis- trator may include the report required by subsection (a) as a component of other congressionally mandated reports •HR 4693 IH provided to appropriate congressional committees, as ap- 11 propriate.

SEC.

7.
SEC.

7.

COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOREIGN AID TRANS- PARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2016.

Section 2(3) of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C.

2394c note) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(E) the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021.’’.

SEC.

8.

DEFINITIONS.


In this Act: (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- trator’’ means the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means— •HR 4693 IH (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(3) NUTRITION LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Nutrition Leadership Council’’ means Nutri- tion Leadership Council established by section 4.

(4) PRIORITY COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘priority country’’ means a foreign country selected under section 3 for purposes of targeting programs to pre- vent and treat malnutrition globally.

SEC.

9.

SUNSET.

The requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
•HR 4693 IH