[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.