I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3706 

To implement policies to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths 

globally. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2015 

Mr. REICHERT (for himself, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. LEE, and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To implement policies to end preventable maternal, newborn, 

and child deaths globally. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reach Every Mother 

5 and Child Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to implement a strategic 

8 approach for providing foreign assistance in order to end 

9 preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths globally 

10 within a generation. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 

5 States Agency for International Development. 

6 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

10 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

11 Senate; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

13 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

14 of Representatives. 

15 (3) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Coordinator’’ 

16 means the Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator 

17 established under section 6. 

18 (4) TARGET COUNTRIES.—The term ‘‘target 

19 countries’’ means specific countries that have the 

20 greatest need and highest burden of maternal and 

21 child deaths, taking into consideration countries 

22 that— 

23 (A) have high-need communities in fragile 

24 states or conflict-affected states; 

25 (B) are low- or middle-income countries; or 


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1 (C) are located in regions with weak health 

2 systems. 

3 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States, in partnership 

5 with target countries, other donor country governments, 

6 international financial institutions, nongovernmental orga7 nizations, international organizations, multilateral organi8 zations, and the private sector to establish and implement 

9 a coordinated, integrated, and comprehensive strategy to 

10 combat the leading causes of maternal, newborn, and child 

11 mortality globally and ensure healthy lives by— 

12 (1) scaling up the most effective, evidence-based 

13 interventions, including for the most vulnerable pop14 ulations, with a focus on country ownership; 

15 (2) designing, implementing, monitoring, and 

16 evaluating programs in a way that enhances trans17 parency and accountability, increases the sustain18 ability, and improves outcomes in target countries; 

19 (3) supporting the development and scale up of 

20 innovative tools and approaches to accelerate 

21 progress toward ending preventable maternal, new22 born, and child deaths; and 

23 (4) utilizing and expanding the use of innova24 tive public-private financing mechanisms. 


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1 SEC. 5. STRATEGY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall es4 tablish and implement a comprehensive five-year, whole5 of-government strategy to achieve, with target countries 

6 and donors, the goal of ending preventable maternal, new7 born, and child deaths globally and ensure healthy and 

8 productive lives within a generation. 

9 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy established under sub10 section (a) shall— 

11 (1) set outcome-based targets to achieve the 

12 goals of the strategy and ascertain baseline data rel13 evant for each target country and for all areas of 

14 focus and programming as of the date of the release 

15 of the strategy; 

16 (2) building on the evidence outlined in 

17 USAID’s ‘‘Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable 

18 Child and Maternal Deaths’’, include specific objec19 tives, programs, and approaches to utilize highest 

20 impact evidence-based interventions to address the 

21 leading causes of death among— 

22 (A) women during pregnancy, childbirth, 

23 and post delivery; 

24 (B) newborns in their first 28 days; and 

25 (C) children under the age of five, particu26 larly among the most vulnerable populations; 


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1 (3) include development and scale up of new 

2 technologies and approaches, including those sup3 ported by public-private partnerships for research 

4 and innovation; 

5 (4) promote coordination and efficiency within 

6 and amongst the relevant executive branch agencies 

7 and initiatives, including the United States Agency 

8 for International Development, the Department of 

9 State, the Department of Health and Human Serv10 ices, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven11 tion, the National Institutes of Health, the Millen12 nium Challenge Corporation, the Peace Corps, the 

13 Department of the Treasury, the Office of the Glob14 al AIDS Coordinator, and the President’s Malaria 

15 Initiative; 

16 (5) project general levels of resources needed to 

17 achieve the strategy’s stated objectives; 

18 (6) identify strategies for leveraging resources 

19 in new and innovative ways; 

20 (7) align with country-driven maternal, new21 born, and child health and survival plans and im22 prove coordination with foreign governments and 

23 international organizations; and 

24 (8) outline consultations with governments, 

25 international financial institutions, nongovernmental 


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1 organizations, local and international civil society 

2 groups, multilateral organizations, the private sector, 

3 and local health workers and professional associa4 tions, as appropriate. 

5 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD AND MATERNAL SUR6 VIVAL COORDINATOR. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the 

8 Administrator, shall designate a current USAID employee 

9 serving in a career or non-career position in the Senior 

10 Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant 

11 Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Child 

12 and Maternal and Survival Coordinator, who shall be re13 sponsible for— 

14 (1) overseeing the strategy established under 

15 section 5; and 

16 (2) all United States Government funds appro17 priated or used for international maternal and child 

18 health and nutrition programs. 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The Coordinator shall— 

20 (1) have the primary responsibility for the over21 sight and coordination of all resources and inter22 national activities of the United States Government 

23 appropriated or used for international maternal and 

24 child health and nutrition programs; 


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1 (2) direct the budget, planning, and staffing to 

2 implement international maternal and child health 

3 and nutrition projects and programs for the purpose 

4 of achieving reductions in preventable maternal, 

5 newborn, and child deaths; 

6 (3) lead implementation and revision, not less 

7 frequently than once every 5 years, of the strategy 

8 established under section 5(a); 

9 (4) coordinate with relevant executive branch 

10 agencies, governments of partner countries, non11 governmental organizations, local civil society orga12 nizations, and private sector entities to carry out the 

13 strategy established under section 5(a) and to align 

14 current and future instruments with high-impact, 

15 evidence-based interventions to save lives; 

16 (5) provide direction to the design and oversight 

17 of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements 

18 with nongovernmental organizations (including faith19 based, community-based, and civil society organiza20 tions) and private sector entities for the purpose of 

21 carrying out the strategy established under section 

22 5(a); and 

23 (6) report directly to the Administrator regard24 ing implementation of the strategy established under 

25 section 5(a). 


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1 (c) RESTRICTION ON ADDITIONAL OR SUPPLE2 MENTAL COMPENSATION.—The Coordinator shall receive 

3 no additional or supplemental compensation as a result of 

4 carrying out responsibilities and duties under this Act. 

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO ASSIST IN IMPLEMENTATION OF 

6 THE STRATEGY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide as8 sistance to implement the strategy established under sec9 tion 5(a). 

10 (b) FOCUS ON IMPACT.— 

11 (1) TARGETS FOR INCREASED IMPLEMENTA12 TION REQUIRED.—USAID grants, contracts, and co13 operative agreements for the purposes of the strat14 egy established under section 5(a) shall be required 

15 to include targets for increased implementation of 

16 high-impact, evidence-based interventions and 

17 strengthening health systems, as appropriate, includ18 ing the establishment of baseline measurements from 

19 which to quantify progress. 

20 (2) EXCEPTION.—In exceptional circumstances 

21 where USAID deems that inclusion of coverage tar22 gets or baseline measures are not reasonable or 

23 practicable for the grant, contract, or cooperative 

24 agreement, the funding mechanism shall include an 


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1 explanation of the omission and explicitly how meas2 urable impact will be targeted and tracked. 

3 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

4 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—The President shall update 

5 Congress on progress made to achieve the strategy estab6 lished under section 5(a) as well as progress toward the 

7 goals set forth in USAID’s 2014 ‘‘Acting on the Call: 

8 Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths’’ report 

9 by submitting an annual report to the appropriate con10 gressional committees and making all report data publicly 

11 available. 

12 (b) INFORMATION INCLUDED IN REPORT.—A report 

13 submitted under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

14 (1) Indicators of progress made by United 

15 States Government programs carried out under 

16 international maternal and child health and nutri17 tion programs for the purposes of improving mater18 nal, newborn, and child health, particularly among 

19 the most vulnerable populations, in each target 

20 country and overall, including— 

21 (A) number of maternal, newborn, and 

22 child deaths averted; 

23 (B) percentage of births attended by 

24 skilled health personnel; 


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1 (C) density of health workforce (number of 

2 health professionals per population); 

3 (D) descriptions of the measured or esti4 mated impact on maternal, newborn, and child 

5 survival of each ongoing program or project; 

6 and 

7 (E) any other targets identified by the Co8 ordinator as essential to meeting the goals of 

9 the strategy for ending preventable maternal, 

10 newborn, and child deaths. 

11 (2) Assessments of progress made toward 

12 achieving the targets set forth under paragraph (1). 

13 (3) Descriptions of how the interventions or 

14 programs are designed— 

15 (A) to increase activities in target coun16 tries; 

17 (B) to reach underserved, marginalized, 

18 and impoverished populations; 

19 (C) to address causes of maternal, new20 born, and child mortality with innovative efforts 

21 and interventions posed to go to scale; 

22 (D) to invest in activities that empower 

23 women, support voluntarism, and provide re24 spectful maternity care; 


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1 (E) to improve transparency and account2 ability at all levels and include common metrics 

3 for tracking progress; 

4 (F) to ensure that high-impact, evidence5 based interventions are prioritized; and 

6 (G) to expand access to quality services 

7 through community-based approaches and in8 clude community accountability measures. 

9 (4) Reporting on each aspect of the strategy es10 tablished under section 5(a), including— 

11 (A) multi-sectoral approaches, specific 

12 strategies, and programming utilizing high-im13 pact, evidence-based interventions to address 

14 the leading causes of preventable maternal, 

15 newborn, and child deaths; 

16 (B) activities to develop and scale up new 

17 technologies and approaches, including those 

18 identified by public-private partnerships for re19 search and innovation; 

20 (C) coordination with United States agen21 cies, foreign governments, nongovernmental or22 ganizations, and international organizations; 

23 (D) methods used to leverage new financial 

24 and other public and private resources in inno25 vative ways; and 


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1 (E) best practices identified by the execu2 tive branch. 

3 (5) Reporting on grants, contracts, and cooper4 ative agreements awarded, including— 

5 (A) a comprehensive list of USAID grants, 

6 contracts, and cooperative agreements awarded 

7 in implementation of the strategy established 

8 under section 5(a); and 

9 (B) a description of— 

10 (i) the targets for coverage of inter11 ventions or services and the baseline 

12 against which they are measured and the 

13 status of progress in meeting the targets; 

14 or 

15 (ii) in the case of exceptional cir16 cumstances where USAID determines that 

17 inclusion of targets or baseline measure18 ments is not reasonably possible, an expla19 nation of how the impact of the grant, con20 tract, agreement, or resulting program is 

21 being measured. 

22 (6) Reporting on the innovative public-private 

23 financing tools, including an analysis of the feasi24 bility and potential effectiveness of new financing 

25 tools that could be used to fund efforts to end preVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Oct 09, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706

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1 ventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths glob2 ally. 

3 SEC. 9. INNOVATIVE PUBLIC-PRIVATE FINANCING TOOLS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to existing bilateral 

5 and multilateral assistance for maternal, newborn, and 

6 child survival, the United States Government, through 

7 USAID and other relevant executive branch agencies iden8 tified by the Coordinator, should identify and remove fi9 nancial barriers to strengthen access to delivery systems 

10 that reach vulnerable and marginalized populations. This 

11 can be accomplished through the utilization of new and 

12 existing tools that leverage public and private capital to 

13 expand delivery of high-impact, evidence-based interven14 tions for international maternal, newborn, and child 

15 health. 

16 (b) AUTHORITIES.—To carry out provisions of this 

17 Act, USAID is authorized— 

18 (1) to grant loans; 

19 (2) to set aside funds for use in the implemen20 tation of financing tools; 

21 (3) to establish and use a financial intermediary 

22 to implement new financing tools, as appropriate; 

23 (4) to issue sovereign level guarantees; and 

24 (5) to make equity investments. 

Æ 


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