Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World today celebrated the House of Representative’s passage of a bipartisan resolution recognizing the importance of United States leadership in the effort to reduce global maternal and child malnutrition. The resolution also recognizes the effectiveness of USAID’s work in achieving global nutrition goals. A similar resolution was passed by the Senate earlier this year.
“We welcome passage of these resolutions, which demonstrate that hunger is not a partisan issue,” said Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World. “With the pandemic pushing maternal and child malnutrition to levels not seen in decades, the United States’ continued leadership on global nutrition is more important than ever.”
According to The Lancet and other experts, malnutrition resulting from the pandemic could cause an additional 6.7 million children under the age of five to suffer from wasting (life-threatening malnutrition) and is leading to the death of an additional 10,000 children each month.
The House resolution, H.R. 189, was introduced by Reps. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) and had 154 bipartisan co-sponsors. The Senate resolution, S.Res. 260, was introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE) and had 42 bipartisan co-sponsors. Bread was honored to work in coalition with InterAction and the broader nutrition community to secure passage in both chambers.
“One of our most basic tasks as people of faith is to care for our children and feed those suffering from hunger. Good nutrition is critical for a child’s health, survival, and development. U.S. funded global nutrition programs have helped more than 22 million children reach their full potential in just the last decade. We hope that Congress makes good on these resolutions and increases funding for global maternal and child malnutrition in FY 2022,” said Cho.
