[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4693 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4693
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 28, 2022
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To advance targeted and evidence-based interventions for the prevention
and treatment of global malnutrition and to improve the coordination of
such programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global Malnutrition Prevention and
Treatment Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF EFFORTS TO PREVENT AND TREAT MALNUTRITION
GLOBALLY.
(a) In General.--The Administrator, in coordination with the heads
of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, is authorized and
encouraged to support efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition
globally, including by--
(1) targeting resources and nutrition interventions to
support the most vulnerable populations susceptible to severe
malnutrition, including children under the age of 5 and
pregnant and lactating women;
(2) increasing coverage, particularly in priority
countries, of nutrition interventions that include coordinated
deployment of prenatal nutrient supplements, breastfeeding
support, vitamin A supplementation, specialized nutritious food
products for the treatment of acute malnutrition, and other
evidence-based interventions, as appropriate;
(3) increasing the use of context and country-appropriate
fortification of staples and condiments with essential
nutrients;
(4) advancing evidence-based programs and interventions
carried out using data-driven approaches, best practices, and
targeted to country-specific contexts and needs;
(5) supporting partner governments to develop policies to
prevent and treat malnutrition;
(6) leveraging investments to strengthen health systems,
including to support community health workers to advance
improved nutrition outcomes;
(7) improve diets through safe, affordable, nutritious
foods in the food system; and
(8) ensuring rigorous monitoring and evaluation of such
efforts.
(b) External Coordination Efforts Related to Nutrition Programs.--
The Administrator, in coordination with the heads of other relevant
Federal departments and agencies, should coordinate, as appropriate,
with bilateral and multilateral donors, governments of partner
countries, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations,
nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based organizations, and
the private sector to prevent and treat malnutrition globally,
including by supporting efforts to--
(1) build the capacity of local and community-based
organizations and governments of partner countries to ensure
sustainability of nutrition interventions;
(2) expand research and innovation to identify and increase
effective and evidence-based nutrition interventions based on
country-specific contexts;
(3) improve coordination and structure of supply chains for
nutrition interventions;
(4) expand domestic resource mobilization and domestic
financing for nutrition interventions; and
(5) seek to leverage additional resources and encourage
investment into innovative and multi-stakeholder finance
partnerships to advance burden sharing in nutrition-related
assistance.
(c) Interagency Efforts.--In carrying out subsections (a) and (b),
the Administrator, in coordination with the heads of other relevant
Federal departments and agencies, consistent with the Global Nutrition
Coordination Plan, shall seek to leverage additional resources to
prevent and treat malnutrition globally, including by--
(1) increasing cooperation among relevant Federal
departments and agencies represented in the Global Nutrition
Coordination Plan to better leverage grants, technical
assistance, debt, equity, loan guaranties, and public-private
partnerships; and
(2) utilizing the Administrator's role as a member of the
Board of Directors of the United States International
Development Finance Corporation to consider opportunities
within the Corporation's development impact framework that
support improved nutrition outcomes.
SEC. 3. SELECTION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES.
(a) In General.--The Administrator, in coordination with the
Nutrition Leadership Council, shall select foreign countries as
priority countries for purposes of targeting programs to prevent and
treat malnutrition globally.
(b) Criteria.--The selection of priority countries under subsection
(a) shall be based on the following:
(1) The prevalence of severe malnutrition among children
under the age of 5 and pregnant and lactating women.
(2) The presence of high-need, underserved, marginalized,
vulnerable, or impoverished communities.
(3) The enabling environment for improved nutrition,
including presence of national nutrition plans and
demonstration of strong political commitment.
(4) Any other criteria that the Administrator determines to
be appropriate.
(c) Updates.--The Administrator shall update the selection of
priority countries under subsection (a) not later than 5 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Administrator should continue to undertake nutrition interventions in
countries not selected as priority countries, particularly in contexts
in which opportunities are identified to advance multi-sectoral
development programming and integrate efforts to prevent and treat
global malnutrition with other priority areas and program objectives.
SEC. 4. NUTRITION LEADERSHIP COUNCIL.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator is authorized to establish in
the United States Agency for International Development the Nutrition
Leadership Council (in this section referred to as the ``Council''),
which shall coordinate Agency efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition
globally.
(b) Duties.--The duties of the Council shall include--
(1) advancing United States Agency for International
Development efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition globally;
(2) ensuring nutrition interventions, particularly in
priority countries, are carried out in close coordination with
other relevant United States Government strategies and policies
and provisions of law, including--
(A) the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C.
9301 et seq.);
(B) the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act
of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note);
(C) the Global Child Thrive Act of 2020 (subtitle I
of title XII of division A of Public Law 116-283); and
(D) the Global Fragility Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C.
9801 et seq.); and
(3) ensuring nutrition interventions are coordinated with
nutrition programs carried out by other relevant Federal
departments and agencies.
(c) Membership.--The Council shall include representatives of the
following bureaus and independent offices of the United States Agency
for International Development:
(1) The Bureau for Global Health.
(2) The Bureau for Resilience and Food Security.
(3) The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
(4) Any other relevant bureau or independent office that
the Administrator determines to be appropriate.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 260 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the
heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall develop
and submit to the appropriate congressional committees an
implementation plan for programs to prevent and treat malnutrition
globally described in section 2.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The implementation plan required by
subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) A description of specific and measurable goals,
objectives, and performance metrics with respect to such
programs, including clear benchmarks and intended timelines for
achieving such goals and objectives.
(2) A description of monitoring and evaluation plans with
respect to such programs, as appropriate.
(3) In priority countries, a description of efforts to
ensure that nutrition is adequately addressed in the Country
Development Cooperation Strategy to the extent practicable and
identify opportunities to expand efforts to prevent and treat
malnutrition, including through leveraging existing health and
development programs and other ongoing activities.
(c) Consultation.--The implementation plan required by subsection
(a) shall be developed in consultation with, as appropriate and to the
extent possible, representatives of nongovernmental organizations,
including faith-based organizations, civil society organizations,
multilateral organizations and donors, relevant private, academic, and
philanthropic entities, and the appropriate congressional committees.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the
Administrator shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
a report that describes progress made towards preventing and treating
malnutrition globally.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall include the following:
(1) A summary of progress made towards achieving the
specific and measurable goals, objectives, and performance
metrics towards ending global malnutrition.
(2) In priority countries--
(A) a detailed summary of nutrition programs and
activities in the previous fiscal year, including a
breakdown of the countries to which nutrition resources
have been allocated and an estimated number of people
reached through nutrition interventions; and
(B) an description of the coordination of nutrition
programs with other health and development programs and
priorities.
(3) A summary of efforts to expand research and innovation
to development and scale up new tools to prevent and treat
malnutrition globally.
(4) An assessment of the collaboration and coordination of
nutrition efforts of the United States Agency for International
Development with United Nations agencies, the World Bank, other
donor governments, host country governments, civil society, and
the private sector, as appropriate.
(5) A description of other donor country and host country
financial commitments and efforts to prevent and treat
malnutrition.
(6) An identification of constraints on implementation of
programs and activities and lessons learned from programs and
activities from the previous fiscal years.
(c) Inclusion in Other Reports.--The Administrator may include the
report required by subsection (a) as a component of other
congressionally mandated reports provided to appropriate congressional
committees, as appropriate.
SEC. 7. COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOREIGN AID TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
ACT OF 2016.
Section 2(3) of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act
of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 2394c note) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) the Global Malnutrition Prevention and
Treatment Act of 2021.''.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(3) Nutrition leadership council.--The term ``Nutrition
Leadership Council'' means Nutrition Leadership Council
established by section 4.
(4) Priority country.--The term ``priority country'' means
a foreign country selected under section 3 for purposes of
targeting programs to prevent and treat malnutrition globally.
SEC. 9. SUNSET.
The requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act
shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2022.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.