H. Res. 189 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

December 7, 2020. 

Whereas 151 million children under the age of 5 in the 

world—22 percent—are stunted, or chronically undernourished, and in countries highly affected by undernutrition, stunting affects 1 in every 3 children; 

Whereas wasting, or acute malnutrition, continues to threaten the lives of an estimated 7.5 percent or nearly 51 million children under the age of 5 globally, and more than 

38 million children under the age of 5 are overweight; 

Whereas malnutrition directly or indirectly causes 45 percent 

of all deaths—2.6 million—of children under age 5 annually and puts those who survive at risk of impaired brain 

development, lower IQ, weakened immune systems, and 

greater risk of serious diseases; 

Whereas undernourished adolescent girls have impaired cognitive ability and productivity and their future babies are 

at increased risk for low birth weight and death; 

Whereas iron deficiency anemia, associated with undernutrition, contributes to 1 in 5 maternal deaths (or 20 percent 

of maternal mortality); 

Whereas poor maternal nutrition contributes to poor fetal development and low birth weight, and an estimated 60 to 
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80 percent of neonatal deaths occur in low birth weight 

babies; 

Whereas a large body of scientific evidence supports the benefits of improved breastfeeding practices on the short-term 

and long-term health and development of children and 

their mothers; 

Whereas a growing evidence base demonstrates that reducing 

maternal and child malnutrition, especially in the critical 

1,000 days between pregnancy and age 2, is imperative 

to ending preventable maternal and child deaths, improving cognitive and physical development, and strengthening children’s immune systems to bolster resistance to 

disease; 

Whereas leading economists and Nobel Laureates have identified improving child nutrition as the most cost-effective 

way to enhance global health and development; 

Whereas the United States Agency for International Development’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy’s approach addresses both direct and underlying causes of malnutrition, and its focus on linking humanitarian assistance 

with development programming helps build resilience to 

shocks in vulnerable communities; 

Whereas malnutrition is a universal issue that no country in 

the world can afford to overlook, and countries with high 

burdens of malnutrition, including stunting, wasting, anemia, and micronutrient deficiency, will struggle to achieve 

sustainable and equitable economic growth; 

Whereas the United States plays a lead role supporting the 

goals of Scaling Up Nutrition, a global movement of 60 

countries to prioritize nutrition, particularly during the 

1,000-day window of opportunity between a mother’s 
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pregnancy and her child’s second birthday, through effective policy and dedicated national resources; and 

Whereas the world has reduced undernutrition since 1990, 

yet global progress has been too slow to ensure each child 

can attain a full and prosperous future regardless of 

where he or she was born and at the current pace, the 

global community will not reach its global nutrition targets set for 2025: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) reaffirms that— 

(A) food security and good nutrition in early 

childhood saves lives and lays the foundation for 

healthy physical and cognitive growth and development; 

(B) the potential benefit of good nutrition is 

life-long and influences a child’s entire future, with 

entire communities and nations ultimately prospering; 

(C) the right nutrition helps children learn, 

helps protect them from illness, increases their productivity and earning potential, and supports the 

well-being and health of their future offspring; and 

(D) women who are well-nourished and do not 

suffer from anemia are less likely to die in childbirth and to give birth to children who are malnourished, breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition; 
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(2) reaffirms that— 

(A) good nutrition is also an economic issue 

central to reducing poverty and putting countries on 

path to economic development; 

(B) adults who were well-nourished as children 

earn up to 46 percent more than those who were 

malnourished; 

(C) countries with a very high burden of early 

childhood malnutrition have lower economic growth 

rates due to lost income and productivity; and 

(D) the cost to nations is substantial with 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) losses estimated between 3 to 16 percent with overall potential impacts 

to the global economy as high as $3.5 trillion per 

year; 

(3) supports United States leadership in helping developing countries meet the nutritional needs of women 

and children, and supports continued efforts; 

(4) supports United States Agency for International 

Development’s (USAID) recognition that nutrition interventions are among the lifesaving interventions that can 

have the greatest impact in ending preventable child and 

maternal deaths; 

(5) supports the use of the USAID Multi-Sectoral 

Nutrition Strategy, the United States Government Glob-
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al Nutrition Coordination Plan, and the Global Food Security Strategy as platforms through which to help reach 

global nutrition targets by 2025, as agreed to at the 

World Health Assembly in 2012; 

(6) acknowledges the vision and goals of the Scaling 

Up Nutrition movement as a global partnership to support country-led efforts to improve maternal and child 

nutrition involving governments, civil society, the United 

Nations, donors, businesses, and researchers; 

(7) acknowledges that progress against global malnutrition must be accelerated using innovative, scaled-up 

approaches to improve the systems that affect the nutritional status of women and children; and 

(8) calls for transformative efforts across sectors at 

USAID— 

(A) to accelerate progress to end maternal and 

child malnutrition, including through Country Development Cooperation Strategies that align with 

country’s national nutrition plans; and 

(B) to include improved and clear methods to 

track nutrition funding and outcomes across all 

United States Government global nutrition programs, especially those in global health, food secu-
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rity, agriculture, basic education, food assistance, 

and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). 

Attest: 

Clerk.