From left to right Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE).

As of December 7th, both the House and the Senate passed resolutions recognizing the importance of United States leadership in the effort to reduce global maternal and child malnutrition.

The Global Nutrition Resolution, H.R. 189, was introduced by Reps. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) in March, 2020, with 154 bipartisan co-sponsors. Senate resolution S.R. 260 was authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE), and had 42 bipartisan co-sponsors.

“Food security and access to good nutrition in early childhood are vital to children’s physical and cognitive development. Although progress has been made in improving nutrition for mothers and children, nearly half of all child deaths worldwide are related to malnutrition. It is a tragedy that so many preventable deaths still occur,” said Senator Collins in a press release. “Our bipartisan resolution recognizes the important role the United States plays in the global effort to end child and maternal hunger and applauds USAID’s continued efforts to promote global food security.”

“The number of children lost each year due to malnutrition is staggering. Too many families and communities around the globe are devastated by food insecurity, hunger, and nutrient deficiencies, and we must do more,” said Senator Coons. “I’m proud the Senate adopted the bipartisan resolution I introduced with Senator Collins that recognizes the critical leadership role the United States and USAID play to reduce malnutrition worldwide.”

The resolutions highlight the severity of malnutrition across the globe and the negative effects that this has on child development, maternal health, and economic development. They also recognize that the USAID Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy, the U.S. Government Global Nutrition Coordination Plan, the Global Food Security Strategy, and the Scaling Up Nutrition movement are all platforms that can help reach global nutrition targets by 2025.

Several advocacy groups have expressed support for the resolution including Bread for the World, RESULTS, Save the Children, CARE, and UNICEF.

Read the full Senate resolution here.

Read the full House resolution here.