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 under-
nourished, and in countries highly affected by undernutri-
tion, stunting affects 1 in every 3 children; 
Whereas wasting, or acute malnutrition, continues to threat-
en the lives of an estimated 7.5 percent or nearly 51 mil-
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 annu-
ally 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 cog-
nitive ability and productivity and their future babies are 
at increased risk for low birth weight and death; 
Whereas iron deficiency anemia, associated with undernutri-
tion, contributes to 1 in 5 maternal deaths (or 20 percent 
of maternal mortality); 
Whereas poor maternal nutrition contributes to poor fetal de-
velopment 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 bene-
fits 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, improv-
ing cognitive and physical development, and strength-
ening children’s immune systems to bolster resistance to 
disease; 
Whereas leading economists and Nobel Laureates have identi-
fied improving child nutrition as the most cost-effective 
way to enhance global health and development; 
Whereas the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy’s approach ad-
dresses both direct and underlying causes of malnutri-
tion, 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, ane-
mia, 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 effec-
tive 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 tar-
gets 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 develop-
ment; 
(B) the potential benefit of good nutrition is 
life-long and influences a child’s entire future, with 
entire communities and nations ultimately pros-
pering; 
(C) the right nutrition helps children learn, 
helps protect them from illness, increases their pro-
ductivity 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 child-
birth and to give birth to children who are malnour-
ished, breaking the intergenerational cycle of mal-
nutrition;
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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 be-
tween 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 de-
veloping 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 inter-
ventions 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 Se-
curity 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 sup-
port 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 mal-
nutrition must be accelerated using innovative, scaled-up 
approaches to improve the systems that affect the nutri-
tional 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 De-
velopment 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 pro-
grams, 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.