[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 189 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
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 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 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;
(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 Global 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
security, agriculture, basic education, food assistance, and
water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
Attest:
Clerk.