[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 260 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d 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 reducing global malnutrition 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, Ms. 
  Klobuchar, Mr. Peters, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Wicker, Mrs. 
   Feinstein, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Hawley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Braun, Mr. Warner, and Mrs. Shaheen) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

                           December 18, 2019

   Reported by Mr. Risch, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                 preamble and an amendment to the title

                            January 14, 2020

  Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble and an 
                         amendment to the title

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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.

Whereas of all children under 5 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 undernourished adolescent girls often suffer 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 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 IQ, and physical, brain and cognitive development; and

    (3) strengthening the immune systems of children;

Whereas combatting malnutrition is an economic issue, as well as a global health 
        issue, that is central to reducing poverty and putting communities on a 
        path toward greater self-reliance and economic growth;
Whereas research indicates that--

    (1) adults who were well nourished as children earn up to 46 percent 
more than adults who were malnourished as children;

    (2) countries with a very high burden of early malnutrition have lower 
economic growth rates resulting from lost income and productivity; and

    (3) the cost of child malnutrition is substantial, with estimated 
losses in Gross Domestic Product of 3 to 16 percent and potential impacts 
to the global economy as high as $3,500,000,000 per year;

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 Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy of the United States Agency for 
        International Development (USAID) recognizes that it is in the national 
        interest of the United States to help developing countries reduce 
        malnutrition by addressing the direct and underlying causes of 
        malnutrition;
Whereas the linkage between humanitarian assistance and development programming 
        under the USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy helps build resilience 
        to shocks and stresses in vulnerable communities, promotes greater self-
        reliance, and is essential to reducing long-term reliance upon other 
        forms of United States foreign assistance;
Whereas, in addition to providing bilateral support, the United States plays a 
        leading role in 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, despite the significant progress in reducing undernutrition since 1990, 
        global progress has been too slow--

    (1) to ensure that undernutrition no longer inhibits a child's ability 
to attain a full and prosperous future; 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) malnutrition is a universal issue that no 
                country can afford to overlook;
                    (B) food security and good nutrition in early 
                childhood saves lives and lays the foundation for 
                healthy physical and cognitive growth and development; 
                and
                    (C) the potential life-long health and economic 
                benefits of early childhood nutrition influence the 
                future of individual children and families, as well as 
                entire communities and countries;
            (2) acknowledges that effective programs to reduce 
        malnutrition are not only lifesaving, but also critical to the 
        success of United States foreign assistance programs to improve 
        global health, end preventable child and maternal death, 
        achieve an AIDS-free generation, reach starving children during 
        an emergency, strengthen food security, and accelerate 
        inclusive economic growth;
            (3) affirms that it is in the national interest of the 
        United States to help developing countries build their own 
        capacity to reduce malnutrition, address the direct and 
        indirect causes of malnutrition, and meet the nutritional needs 
        of women and children;
            (4) recognizes the effectiveness of the Multi-Sectoral 
        Nutrition Strategy of USAID, the U.S. Government Global 
        Nutrition Coordination Plan, and the U.S. Government Global 
        Food Security Strategy to address the direct and indirect 
        causes of malnutrition and reach, by 2025, the global nutrition 
        targets agreed to at the World Health Assembly in 2012;
            (5) supports the goals and principles of the Scaling Up 
        Nutrition movement to end global malnutrition through--
                    (A) greater collaboration between governments, 
                civil society, international organizations, donors, the 
                private sector, and researchers on multi-sectoral 
                approaches;
                    (B) cost-effective and inclusive approaches; and
                    (C) improved transparency and accountability for 
                results;
            (6) recognizes the significant progress made in the fight 
        against global malnutrition,
            (7) recommends accelerating improvements to the systems 
        affecting the health and nutritional status of women and 
        children through innovative, scaled-up approaches;
            (8) applauds the efforts of USAID to integrate effective 
        nutrition programming across relevant development sectors; and
            (9) calls for additional transformative efforts across 
        relevant sectors at USAID to accelerate progress toward ending 
        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) agricultural development;
                            (iv) basic education;
                            (v) food assistance; and
                            (vi) water, sanitation, and hygiene (also 
                        known as ``WASH'').
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