III 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 344 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the disproportionate impact of the global food 
crisis on children in the developing world. 
Whereas according to the United Nations, over 850,000,000 
people in the world are chronically or acutely malnour-
ished, and over 300,000,000 of these are children; 
Whereas the 2000 United Nations Millennium Development 
Summit called for halving the proportion of hungry peo-
ple in the world by the year 2015, but progress reaching 
this 
goal 
has 
been 
slow, 
and, 
according 
to 
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HCON 344 RFS 
the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, 
only the Latin American and Caribbean region has been 
reducing the prevalence of hunger quickly enough to 
reach this target; 
Whereas every year, malnutrition caused by chronic hunger 
leads to the death of an estimated 5,600,000 children 
under 5 years old; 
Whereas, according to UNICEF, an estimated 146,000,000 
children, or roughly one in every four children under 5 
years old, are underweight; 
Whereas hunger and malnutrition weaken the immune sys-
tem, and as a result treatable diseases pose a greater risk 
to malnourished children; 
Whereas even temporary deprivation of essential nutrients 
can have a lasting impact on children’s physical growth 
and intellectual potential; 
Whereas children who are only mildly underweight are twice 
as likely to die of infectious diseases as children who are 
better nourished, and children who are moderately or se-
verely underweight are 5 to 8 times more likely to die of 
infectious diseases; 
Whereas according to a study conducted by the United Na-
tions Food and Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of 
children who died after contracting measles were mal-
nourished, as were 60 percent of children who died after 
contracting severe diarrhea; 
Whereas chronic hunger and undernutrition can lead to 
growth retardation (stunting), affecting an estimated 
168,000,000 children under the age of 5 in developing 
countries; 
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Whereas some 42 percent of children under the age of 5 are 
stunted in the least developed countries, compared to 30 
percent globally; 
Whereas women whose growth was stunted face ongoing 
health complications as adults, are more likely to have 
obstructed labor, are at greater risk of dying during 
childbirth, and are more likely to deliver children who are 
premature and stunted; 
Whereas stunted growth has also been linked to diminished 
work capacity and higher propensity to diseases, includ-
ing diabetes and heart disease, in adults; 
Whereas the global community is currently facing a food cri-
sis, with food prices doubling over the past 3 years and 
rising 65 percent between January and April 2007 alone, 
and the World Bank has estimated that the emergency 
situation could push 100,000,000 people in low-income 
countries deeper into poverty; 
Whereas in times of food crisis, families often must cut more 
expensive foods, such as meat, fruit, and vegetables, from 
their diets, instead relying on less nutritious staples such 
as rice and maize, foods without the nutrients necessary 
for proper child growth; 
Whereas, on June 3, 2008, through June 5, 2008, more than 
180 countries, including more than 40 heads of state and 
more than 100 ministers, attended and participated in 
the High Level Conference on World Food Security in 
Rome, Italy; 
Whereas at the High Level Conference on World Food Secu-
rity, the participating countries pledged to increase their 
assistance for developing countries, in particular least de-
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HCON 344 RFS 
veloped countries and those that are most negatively af-
fected by high food prices; and 
Whereas the G8 member states declared at the 2008 
Hokkaido Toyko Summit their commitment to addressing 
urgent needs of the most vulnerable people suffering from 
the global food crisis and to increasing investment in 
long-term agricultural development and for programs 
that respond to the underlying causes of food insecurity: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) in emergency situations, children have dif-
ferent needs than those of adults, and nutritional de-
ficiencies disproportionately affect children; 
(2) in the context of the current global food cri-
sis, the nutritional needs of children must be a hu-
manitarian priority; and 
(3) the United States and the other G8 member 
states should continue to monitor the impact of the 
global food crisis on children and commit to increas-
ing their assistance to respond to the global food cri- 
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