,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #iehc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #b1 #bjbf,mrs4 ,kim 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,titus1 and ,mr4 ,lawler7 introduced the following bill2 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 interventions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,healthy ,mothers1 ,healthy ,babies ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,investments in effective programs to prevent maternal and child deaths directly advance ,united ,states foreign policy and economic interests by promoting stability1 increased economic growth and market access and improved diplomatic relations with partner countries4 7#b7 ,global maternal and child deaths remain unacceptably high4 ,in #bjbc1 a woman died of pregnancy related causes every #b minutes4 ,millions of children under #e continue to die every year from preventable causes1 with preterm birth1 birth complications1 and childhood diseases1 like pneumonia and diarrhea1 accounting for more than half of all under-#e deaths worldwide4 7#c7 ,these deaths are largely preventable through proven1 low-cost interventions such as-- 7,a7 skilled care before1 during1 and after birth2 7,b7 treatment of childhood infectious diseases2 7,c7 adequate nutrition for pregnant women and children2 and 7,d7 immunization4 7#d7 ,immunization is a cornerstone of child survival1 protecting children from deadly diseases1 including diarrheal disease1 pneumonia1 measles1 polio1 diphtheria1 pertussis1 and meningitis4 ,it remains one of the most cost-effective interventions1 delivering a return of at least #bf for every #a invested4 ,the ,united ,states ,government's partnership with ,gavi1 the ,global ,vaccine ,alliance1 is a major driver in reducing the number of childhood deaths from vaccine preventable diseases in lower-income countries1 with ,gavi's immunization campaigns averting nearly #ba1jjj1jjj child deaths since #bjjj4 7#e7 ,continued ,united ,states leadership in maternal and child health could help save millions more lives by #bjcj1 accelerating progress toward ending preventable child and maternal deaths worldwide4 7#f7 ,at just #d per pregnancy1 multiple micronutrient supplement 7,,mms7 prenatal vitamins combine #ae essential vitamins and minerals into a single1 lifesaving tablet1 dramatically improving birth outcomes and reducing maternal anemia4 7#g7 ,despite the immense benefits1 most women around the world lack access to modern prenatal vitamins4 7#h7 ,previous guidance from the ,,mms ,global ,investment ,roadmap suggests that there are at least #bfj1jjj1jjj pregnant women in high-burden countries who lack access to ,,mms prenatal vitamins1 and providing access for these women to ,,mms over the next #e years would save #fjj1jjj lives1 improve birth outcomes for #e1jjj1jjj babies1 and prevent anemia in over #ae1jjj1jjj pregnant women4 7#i7 #bj years of research and #gj rigorous trials prove modern ,,mms prenatal vitamins are superior to iron-folic acid tablets in every way-slashing low birthweight by an extra #gi percent1 stillbirths by #bg percent1 and infant deaths by #bi percent4 7#aj7 ,a coalition of philanthropies has come together to commit #bej1jjj1jjj to ,,mms prenatal vitamins1 providing leverage to ,united ,states ,government investments4 7#aa7 ,,mms prenatal vitamins are ,american-made1 supporting ,american factory jobs1 and highlighting ,american ingenuity and compassion4 #c4 ,statement of policy ,the following shall be the policy of the ,united ,states3 7#a7 ,to advance foreign policy1 national security and economic interests1 by strategically supporting partner countries to invest in maternal and child survival and health programs4 ,the ,united ,states shall make maternal and child survival a key objective of ,united ,states global health and foreign assistance strategies and programs4 7#b7 ,to support programs that reduce preventable death among mothers1 newborns1 and children and enable them to thrive1 which promotes more stable and prosperous societies and advances the ,united ,states diplomatic and commercial position with partner countries4 ,united ,states assistance programs for maternal and child health shall seek to-- 7,a7 reduce preventable child and maternal mortality in priority countries to #ab percent or lower of total deaths by #bjcj2 and 7,b7 increase coverage levels for the target set of life-saving interventions listed in subsection #d within #aj to #ae priority countries to a level of at least #gj percent by #bjcj4 7#c7 ,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 malnutrition4 7#d7 ,to prioritize the highest impact prevention and treatment interventions targeted towards prenatal1 delivery1 postnatal1 newborn and child care1 including prevention and management of complications and infections during pregnancy1 access to skilled birth attendants1 breastfeeding support1 care of small or sick newborns1 screening and treatment for malnutrition1 vitamin ,a and other micronutrient supplements1 child immunization1 and treatments for childhood diseases including diarrhea and pneumonia4 #d4 ,initiative to scale up multiple micronutrient supplement coverage 7a7 ,in general ,the relevant foreign assistance agency shall select foreign countries as priority countries for purposes of increasing the number of women receiving ,,mms coverage1 including prenatal vitamins4 7b7 ,criteria ,the selection of priority countries shall be based on the following3 7#a7 ,the prevalence of malnourished pregnant and lactating women and children under the age of #e4 7#b7 ,the presence of high-need1 underserved1 marginalized1 vulnerable1 or impoverished communities4 7#c7 ,the enabling environment for improved maternal and child health1 including presence of national maternal and child health plans and demonstration of strong political commitment4 7#d7 ,any other criteria that the relevant foreign assistance agency determines to be appropriate4 7c7 ,update ,the relevant foreign assistance agency shall update the selection of priority countries not later than #e years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7d7 ,report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #e years1 the relevant foreign assistance agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes progress made towards scaling up ,,mms coverage4 7#b7 ,matters to be included ,the report required by paragraph 7#a7 shall include the following3 7,a7 ,a summary of progress made towards achieving increased coverage levels for ,,mms4 7,b7 ,a detailed summary of the criteria used in selecting priority countries for receiving ,,mms prenatal vitamins4 7,c7 ,in priority countries-- 7i7 a detailed summary of ,,mms scale up programs and activities in the previous fiscal year1 including a breakdown of the countries to which resources have been allocated and an estimated number of pregnant women reached with ,,mms coverage2 and 7ii7 a description of the coordination of ,,mms programs with other health and development programs4 7,d7 ,a description of other donor country and host country financial commitments and efforts to increase ,,mms coverage1 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 outcomes4 7,e7 ,an identification of constraints on implementation of programs and activities and lessons learned from programs and activities from the previous fiscal years4 7,f7 ,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 countries4 7e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section up to #aej1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjbf through #bjcj from amounts in the ,global ,health ,programs ,account of the ,department of ,state4 #e4 ,maternal and child health strategy and report 7a7 ,strategy ,the relevant foreign assistance agency shall establish and publish a #e-year ,maternal and ,child ,health strategy with specific targets for increasing coverage levels for priority interventions and priority countries4 ,the strategy should prioritize investments in the delivery of interventions with the greatest cost-effectiveness and measurable outcome of lives saved and disability averted4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #e years1 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 interventions4 ,the report shall include the following3 7#a7 ,program funding allocations and obligations disaggregated by country and by program area intervention on an annual basis4 7#b7 ,baseline data for the #b fiscal years preceding the date of enactment1 including funding levels1 performance indicators1 and programmatic outcomes4 7#c7 ,a plan for how priority interventions will be delivered and implemented1 ensuring interventions are reaching mothers and children4 7#d7 ,a standard set of performance and outcome indicators for maternal and child health programs4 7#e7 ,a common set budget tags or codes1 consistent across ,united ,states agencies and programs1 to track funding allocations and obligations by country1 year1 and intervention area4 #f4 ,relevant foreign assistance agency defined ,in this ,act1 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 #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #baea et seq474