Title: A resolution recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition and supporting the commitment of the United States Agency for International Development to reducing global malnutrition through the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for increased U.S. efforts to combat malnutrition among women and children around the world.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 260 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 260

  Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to 
 accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition 
     and supporting the commitment of the United States Agency for 
    International Development to global nutrition through the Multi-
                      Sectoral Nutrition Strategy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2019

  Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
Young, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Casey, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
Cramer, Ms. Warren, Mr. Moran, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
  Gardner, Mr. Markey, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Cardin, Ms. Smith, Mr. Wyden, Mr. King, Mr. Jones, Mr. Merkley, and Ms. 
 Klobuchar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the importance of sustained United States leadership to 
 accelerating global progress against maternal and child malnutrition 
     and supporting the commitment of the United States Agency for 
    International Development to global nutrition through the Multi-
                      Sectoral Nutrition Strategy.

Whereas, of all children under 5 years of age worldwide--

    (1) 149,000,000, or 21.9 percent, are stunted or chronically 
undernourished;

    (2) an estimated 7.3 percent, or nearly 49,000,000, experience life-
threatening acute malnutrition (also known as ``wasting''); and

    (3) more than 40,000,000 are overweight;

Whereas, in countries highly affected by undernutrition, stunting affects 1 in 
        every 3 children;
Whereas malnutrition directly or indirectly causes 45 percent of all deaths of 
        children under 5 years of age, a total of 2,600,000 deaths annually;
Whereas children who experience malnutrition--

    (1) may experience impaired brain development, lower IQ, and weakened 
immune systems; and

    (2) are at a greater risk of contracting serious diseases;

Whereas undernourished adolescent girls have impaired cognitive ability and 
        productivity, and the future children of those girls 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 body of evidence indicates that reducing maternal and child 
        malnutrition, especially in the critical 1,000-day period between the 
        beginning of pregnancy and the second birthday of the child, is 
        imperative to--

    (1) ending preventable child and maternal deaths;

    (2) improving cognitive and physical development; and

    (3) strengthening the immune systems of children to bolster resistance 
to disease;

Whereas leading economists and Nobel Laureates have identified improving child 
        nutrition as the most cost-effective way to improve global health 
        outcomes and enhance development;
Whereas the approach of the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy of the United 
        States Agency for International Development addresses the direct and 
        underlying causes of malnutrition;
Whereas the focus of the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy on linking 
        humanitarian assistance with development programming helps build 
        resilience to shocks in vulnerable communities;
Whereas malnutrition is a universal issue that no country can afford to 
        overlook;
Whereas countries with populations that experience 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 leading role supporting the goals of Scaling 
        Up Nutrition, a global movement of 60 countries to prioritize nutrition 
        through effective policy and dedicated national resources, particularly 
        during the 1,000-day window of opportunity between the beginning of 
        pregnancy and the second birthday of the child; and
Whereas, although the world has reduced undernutrition since 1990, global 
        progress has been too slow--

    (1) to ensure that each child can attain a full and prosperous future 
regardless of where that child was born; and

    (2) for the global community to reach the global nutrition targets set 
for 2025: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes 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 benefits of good nutrition in 
                early childhood are life-long and influence the entire 
                future of the child, with entire communities and 
                nations ultimately prospering;
                    (C) the right nutrition--
                            (i) helps children learn;
                            (ii) helps protect children from illness;
                            (iii) increases the productivity and 
                        earning potential of children later in life; 
                        and
                            (iv) supports the well-being and health of 
                        the future offspring of those children who 
                        receive that nutrition;
                    (D) women who are well-nourished and do not suffer 
                from anemia are less likely to die in childbirth or 
                give birth to children who are malnourished, breaking 
                the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition;
                    (E) good nutrition is an economic issue that is 
                central to reducing poverty and putting countries on a 
                path to economic development;
                    (F) adults who were well-nourished as children earn 
                up to 46 percent more than adults who were malnourished 
                as children;
                    (G) countries with a very high burden of early 
                childhood malnutrition have lower economic growth rates 
                due to lost income and productivity; and
                    (H) the cost of childhood malnutrition to countries 
                is substantial, with--
                            (i) estimated losses in Gross Domestic 
                        Product of 3 to 16 percent; and
                            (ii) potential impacts to the global 
                        economy as high as $3,500,000,000,000 per year;
            (2) applauds the leadership of the United States in helping 
        developing countries meet the nutritional needs of women and 
        children;
            (3) supports continued efforts by the United States to help 
        developing countries meet the nutritional needs of women and 
        children;
            (4) commends the United States Agency for International 
        Development (referred to in this resolution as ``USAID'') for 
        recognizing that nutrition interventions are among the highest-
        impact evidence-based interventions that--
                    (A) are lifesaving; and
                    (B) support the goal of ending preventable child 
                and maternal deaths;
            (5) recognizes the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy, the 
        U.S. Government Global Nutrition Coordination Plan, and the 
        Global Food Security Strategy as platforms through which to 
        reach, by 2025, the global nutrition targets agreed to at the 
        World Health Assembly in 2012;
            (6) recognizes the vision and goals of the Scaling Up 
        Nutrition movement, a global partnership supporting country-led 
        efforts to improve maternal and child nutrition through the 
        involvement of--
                    (A) governments;
                    (B) civil society;
                    (C) the United Nations;
                    (D) donors;
                    (E) businesses; and
                    (F) researchers;
            (7) recognizes that progress against global malnutrition 
        must be accelerated using innovative, scaled up approaches to 
        improve the systems that affect the health and nutritional 
        status of women and children; and
            (8) calls for transformative efforts across sectors at 
        USAID to accelerate progress to end maternal and child 
        malnutrition, including through--
                    (A) country development cooperation strategies that 
                align with national nutrition plans; and
                    (B) improved and clear methods to track nutrition 
                funding and outcomes across all global nutrition 
                programs of the United States Government, especially 
                those relating to--
                            (i) global health;
                            (ii) food security;
                            (iii) agriculture;
                            (iv) basic education;
                            (v) food assistance; and
                            (vi) water, sanitation, and hygiene (also 
                        known as ``WASH'').
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