,,iv #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #bed ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #aa1 #bjac ,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz 7for herself and ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,,resolution ,recognizing the importance of ,united ,states leadership in addressing the challenge of global maternal and child malnutrition4 ,whereas the ,united ,states and other partners contributed to reducing child deaths from #ab1jjj1jjj in #aiij to #f1ijj1jjj in #bjaa1 and supported efforts to end preventable child deaths1 and pledged to end preventable child deaths within a generation2 ,whereas food security and nutrition is foundational for human development1 and persistent hunger and malnutrition stunts the mental and physical development of the next generation and hinders education1 health1 economics1 and security2 ,whereas scaling up nutrition interventions can help reduce poverty1 improve educational attainment1 and improve lifetime earnings1 and economic productivity1 increasing a country's gross domestic product 7,,gdp7 by as much as #c percent annually2 ,whereas leading ,nobel ,laureate economists have recommended that addressing hunger and malnutrition among young children should be the top priority for policymakers1 identifying nutrition as the smartest investment with every #a invested in nutrition generating as much as #ach in better health and increased productivity2 ,whereas reducing maternal and child malnutrition1 especially in the critical #a1jjj days between pregnancy and age #b1 is critical to increasing child survival1 improving cognitive and physical development1 strengthening the immune system to bolster resistance to disease1 and breaking the cycle of poverty2 ,whereas nearly #hej1jjj1jjj people are chronically undernourished today1 a condition that is responsible1 directly or indirectly1 for #de percent of the #f1ijj1jjj deaths among children under the age of #e annually2 ,whereas additionally1 #aa percent of global disease burden is attributable to maternal and child under-nutrition2 ,whereas a growing evidence base shows #a in #d of the world's children is stunted and in developing countries this can rise to #a in #c2 ,whereas #hj percent of the world's stunted children live in just #ad countries2 ,whereas stunting leads to long-term poor health1 impaired brain development1 and decreased immunity2 ,whereas #b1jjj1jjj1jjj people are deficient in key vitamins and minerals1 and over #afe1jjj1jjj children under the age of #e are stunted as a result of malnutrition2 ,whereas nutrition is essential for food security1 and the ongoing need to improve the nutritional quality of ,united ,states food assistance1 particularly for vulnerable groups such as pregnant and lactating mothers and young children1 with a focus on the cost-effective #a1jjj days between pregnancy and age #b2 ,whereas nearly #hgj1jjj1jjj people worldwide suffer from food insecurity2 ,whereas food insecurity in developing countries forces tens of millions of people into poverty1 contributes to political and social instability1 erodes economic growth1 and undermines ,united ,states foreign assistance investments in areas including basic education1 global health1 environmental protection1 and democratic institutions2 ,whereas the ,united ,states plays a lead role in supporting ,scaling ,up ,nutrition 7,,sun71 a global movement of #dj governments1 civil societies1 international organizations1 development partners1 researchers1 and businesses in a collective effort to prioritize malnutrition1 particularly during the #a1jjj day window of opportunity between a mother's pregnancy and her child's second birthday1 through effective policy1 program implementation1 and aligned support for national1 costed nutrition plans1 and dedicated national resources by the host countries2 ,whereas the ,united ,states1 along with ,ireland and other donors and partners1 endorsed a call to action in ,september #bjaj at #a1jjj ,days3 ,change a ,life1 ,change the ,future and launched the #a1jjj ,days partnership to stimulate international and national leadership to respond with urgency to the nutrition challenge in support of country requests for improved collaboration through alliances and partnership2 ,whereas the ,united ,states committed to reducing under-nutrition by #bj percent in the targeted zones of the #ai ,feed the ,future ,focus countries and the ,global ,health ,initiative countries by #bjae1 while also aiming to end preventable child deaths2 ,whereas country-led progress to adopt evidence-based policies to improve nutrition and reduce stunting has been documented1 such as in ,ethiopia where the rate of stunting among children under #e decreased between #bjjj and #bjaa from #eg percent to #dd percent through a strong safety net program and a comprehensive nutrition plan to scale up community nutrition programs1 micronutrient supplementation1 and promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding2 and ,whereas the ,nutrition for ,growth conference taking place on ,june #h1 #bjac1 in ,london1 ,england1 is an important opportunity to continue collaboration and forge new partnerships to address malnutrition3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 recognizes the ,scaling ,up ,nutrition movement as a global partnership to support country-led efforts to improve maternal and child nutrition involving governments1 civil society1 international organizations1 donors1 businesses1 and researchers2 7#b7 supports ,united ,states leadership to scale up nutrition and improve nutrition outcomes for pregnant and lactating women and young children1 and support the ,scaling ,up ,nutrition movement and the #a1jjj ,days partnership1 which promotes targeted action and investment to improve nutrition for mothers and children in the #a1jjj days between a woman's pregnancy and her child's second birthday2 and 7#c7 calls on relevant ,federal agencies1 including the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development1 ,department of ,state1 ,office of the ,global ,,aids ,coordinator1 ,department of ,agriculture1 ,department of the ,treasury1 and ,millennium ,challenge ,corporation to consider developing a nutrition strategy to further ongoing coordination efforts to improve indicators to track nutrition funding and outcomes across ,united ,states ,government global nutrition programs1 especially those in health1 food security1 agriculture development1 food aid1 and water1 sanitation1 and hygiene4