[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9583 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9583
To provide support for scaling up global access to multiple
micronutrient supplements and other cost effective maternal and child
interventions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 2, 2026
Mrs. Kim (for herself, Ms. Titus, and Mr. Lawler) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide support for scaling up global access to multiple
micronutrient supplements and other cost effective maternal and child
interventions, 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 ``Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act
of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Investments in effective programs to prevent maternal
and child deaths directly advance United States foreign policy
and economic interests by promoting stability, increased
economic growth and market access and improved diplomatic
relations with partner countries.
(2) Global maternal and child deaths remain unacceptably
high. In 2023, a woman died of pregnancy related causes every 2
minutes. Millions of children under 5 continue to die every
year from preventable causes, with preterm birth, birth
complications, and childhood diseases, like pneumonia and
diarrhea, accounting for more than half of all under-5 deaths
worldwide.
(3) These deaths are largely preventable through proven,
low-cost interventions such as--
(A) skilled care before, during, and after birth;
(B) treatment of childhood infectious diseases;
(C) adequate nutrition for pregnant women and
children; and
(D) immunization.
(4) Immunization is a cornerstone of child survival,
protecting children from deadly diseases, including diarrheal
disease, pneumonia, measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and
meningitis. It remains one of the most cost-effective
interventions, delivering a return of at least $26 for every $1
invested. The United States Government's partnership with Gavi,
the Global Vaccine Alliance, is a major driver in reducing the
number of childhood deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in
lower-income countries, with Gavi's immunization campaigns
averting nearly 21,000,000 child deaths since 2000.
(5) Continued United States leadership in maternal and
child health could help save millions more lives by 2030,
accelerating progress toward ending preventable child and
maternal deaths worldwide.
(6) At just $4 per pregnancy, multiple micronutrient
supplement (MMS) prenatal vitamins combine 15 essential
vitamins and minerals into a single, lifesaving tablet,
dramatically improving birth outcomes and reducing maternal
anemia.
(7) Despite the immense benefits, most women around the
world lack access to modern prenatal vitamins.
(8) Previous guidance from the MMS Global Investment
Roadmap suggests that there are at least 260,000,000 pregnant
women in high-burden countries who lack access to MMS prenatal
vitamins, and providing access for these women to MMS over the
next 5 years would save 600,000 lives, improve birth outcomes
for 5,000,000 babies, and prevent anemia in over 15,000,000
pregnant women.
(9) 20 years of research and 70 rigorous trials prove
modern MMS prenatal vitamins are superior to iron-folic acid
tablets in every way-slashing low birthweight by an extra 79
percent, stillbirths by 27 percent, and infant deaths by 29
percent.
(10) A coalition of philanthropies has come together to
commit $250,000,000 to MMS prenatal vitamins, providing
leverage to United States Government investments.
(11) MMS prenatal vitamins are American-made, supporting
American factory jobs, and highlighting American ingenuity and
compassion.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
The following shall be the policy of the United States:
(1) To advance foreign policy, national security and
economic interests, by strategically supporting partner
countries to invest in maternal and child survival and health
programs. The United States shall make maternal and child
survival a key objective of United States global health and
foreign assistance strategies and programs.
(2) To support programs that reduce preventable death among
mothers, newborns, and children and enable them to thrive,
which promotes more stable and prosperous societies and
advances the United States diplomatic and commercial position
with partner countries. United States assistance programs for
maternal and child health shall seek to--
(A) reduce preventable child and maternal mortality
in priority countries to 12 percent or lower of total
deaths by 2030; and
(B) increase coverage levels for the target set of
life-saving interventions listed in subsection 4 within
10 to 15 priority countries to a level of at least 70
percent by 2030.
(3) To prioritize scaling up investments in the procurement
and delivery of MMS prenatal vitamins as a highly cost-
effective intervention to address maternal and child health and
malnutrition.
(4) To prioritize the highest impact prevention and
treatment interventions targeted towards prenatal, delivery,
postnatal, newborn and child care, including prevention and
management of complications and infections during pregnancy,
access to skilled birth attendants, breastfeeding support, care
of small or sick newborns, screening and treatment for
malnutrition, vitamin A and other micronutrient supplements,
child immunization, and treatments for childhood diseases
including diarrhea and pneumonia.
SEC. 4. INITIATIVE TO SCALE UP MULTIPLE MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
COVERAGE.
(a) In General.--The relevant foreign assistance agency shall
select foreign countries as priority countries for purposes of
increasing the number of women receiving MMS coverage, including
prenatal vitamins.
(b) Criteria.--The selection of priority countries shall be based
on the following:
(1) The prevalence of malnourished pregnant and lactating
women and children under the age of 5.
(2) The presence of high-need, underserved, marginalized,
vulnerable, or impoverished communities.
(3) The enabling environment for improved maternal and
child health, including presence of national maternal and child
health plans and demonstration of strong political commitment.
(4) Any other criteria that the relevant foreign assistance
agency determines to be appropriate.
(c) Update.--The relevant foreign assistance agency shall update
the selection of priority countries not later than 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years,
the relevant foreign assistance agency shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that describes
progress made towards scaling up MMS coverage.
(2) Matters to be included.--The report required by
paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) A summary of progress made towards achieving
increased coverage levels for MMS.
(B) A detailed summary of the criteria used in
selecting priority countries for receiving MMS prenatal
vitamins.
(C) In priority countries--
(i) a detailed summary of MMS scale up
programs and activities in the previous fiscal
year, including a breakdown of the countries to
which resources have been allocated and an
estimated number of pregnant women reached with
MMS coverage; and
(ii) a description of the coordination of
MMS programs with other health and development
programs.
(D) A description of other donor country and host
country financial commitments and efforts to increase
MMS coverage, and how the United States is engaging
with donor country and host country governments to
increase those commitments and efforts along with other
interventions to improve nutrition outcomes.
(E) An identification of constraints on
implementation of programs and activities and lessons
learned from programs and activities from the previous
fiscal years.
(F) A summary of how United States assistance
programs to increase MMS coverage levels have advanced
United States foreign policy and national security
priorities with partner countries.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section up to $150,000,000 for each of
the fiscal years 2026 through 2030 from amounts in the Global Health
Programs Account of the Department of State.
SEC. 5. MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH STRATEGY AND REPORT.
(a) Strategy.--The relevant foreign assistance agency shall
establish and publish a 5-year Maternal and Child Health strategy with
specific targets for increasing coverage levels for priority
interventions and priority countries. The strategy should prioritize
investments in the delivery of interventions with the greatest cost-
effectiveness and measurable outcome of lives saved and disability
averted.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the relevant foreign
assistance agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that describes progress made towards scaling up
Maternal and Child Health interventions. The report shall include the
following:
(1) Program funding allocations and obligations
disaggregated by country and by program area intervention on an
annual basis.
(2) Baseline data for the 2 fiscal years preceding the date
of enactment, including funding levels, performance indicators,
and programmatic outcomes.
(3) A plan for how priority interventions will be delivered
and implemented, ensuring interventions are reaching mothers
and children.
(4) A standard set of performance and outcome indicators
for maternal and child health programs.
(5) A common set budget tags or codes, consistent across
United States agencies and programs, to track funding
allocations and obligations by country, year, and intervention
area.
SEC. 6. RELEVANT FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AGENCY DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``relevant foreign assistance agency'' means
the department or agency designated as primarily responsible for
implementing United States foreign assistance under part I of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
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