IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 189 

Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition and 

supporting United States Agency for International Development’s commitment to global nutrition through its multi-sectoral nutrition strategy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mr. MARSHALL (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in 

addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to accelerating global progress against maternal 

and child malnutrition and supporting United States 

Agency for International Development’s commitment to 

global nutrition through its multi-sectoral nutrition strategy. 

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 milVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Mar 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR189.IH HR189

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lion 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 

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; 


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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 

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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms that— 

3 (A) food security and good nutrition in 

4 early childhood saves lives and lays the founda5 tion for healthy physical and cognitive growth 

6 and development; 


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1 (B) the potential benefit of good nutrition 

2 is life-long and influences a child’s entire fu3 ture, with entire communities and nations ulti4 mately prospering; 

5 (C) the right nutrition helps children learn, 

6 helps protect them from illness, increases their 

7 productivity and earning potential, and sup8 ports the well-being and health of their future 

9 offspring; and 

10 (D) women who are well-nourished and do 

11 not suffer from anemia are less likely to die in 

12 childbirth and to give birth to children who are 

13 malnourished, breaking the intergenerational 

14 cycle of malnutrition; 

15 (2) reaffirms that— 

16 (A) good nutrition is also an economic 

17 issue central to reducing poverty and putting 

18 countries on path to economic development; 

19 (B) adults who were well-nourished as chil20 dren earn up to 46 percent more than those 

21 who were malnourished; 

22 (C) countries with a very high burden of 

23 early childhood malnutrition have lower eco24 nomic growth rates due to lost income and pro25 ductivity; and 


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1 (D) the cost to nations is substantial with 

2 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) losses esti3 mated between 3 to 16 percent with overall po4 tential impacts to the global economy as high as 

5 $3.5 trillion per year; 

6 (3) commends United States leadership in help7 ing developing countries meet the nutritional needs 

8 of women and children, and supports continued ef9 forts; 

10 (4) commends United States Agency for Inter11 national Development’s (USAID) recognition that 

12 nutrition interventions are among the lifesaving 

13 interventions that can have the greatest impact in 

14 ending preventable child and maternal deaths; 

15 (5) recognizes the USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutri16 tion Strategy, the United States Government Global 

17 Nutrition Coordination Plan, and the Global Food 

18 Security Strategy as platforms through which to 

19 help reach global nutrition targets by 2025, as 

20 agreed to at the World Health Assembly in 2012; 

21 (6) recognizes the vision and goals of the Scal22 ing Up Nutrition movement as a global partnership 

23 to support country-led efforts to improve maternal 

24 and child nutrition involving governments, civil sociVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Mar 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR189.IH HR189

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1 ety, the United Nations, donors, businesses, and re2 searchers; 

3 (7) recognizes that progress against global mal4 nutrition must be accelerated using innovative, 

5 scaled-up approaches to improve the systems that af6 fect the nutritional status of women and children; 

7 and 

8 (8) calls for transformative efforts across sec9 tors at USAID— 

10 (A) to accelerate progress to end maternal 

11 and child malnutrition, including through Coun12 try Development Cooperation Strategies that 

13 align with country’s national nutrition plans; 

14 and 

15 (B) to include improved and clear methods 

16 to track nutrition funding and outcomes across 

17 all United States Government global nutrition 

18 programs, especially those in global health, food 

19 security, agriculture, basic education, food as20 sistance, and water, sanitation, and hygiene 

21 (WASH). 

Æ 


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