President Joe Biden on Oct. 19 signed into law a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) that authorizes the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to undertake efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition globally.
“I am thrilled we can get this bipartisan effort to combat global malnutrition officially across the finish line and will continue working on the Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights Subcommittee to end preventable deaths worldwide,” Rep. Kim said on Wednesday.
The Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act, H.R. 4693, which Rep. Kim cosponsored in July 2021 alongside fellow cosponsor U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), will advance targeted, evidence-based interventions to prevent and treat global malnutrition.
“Every 11 seconds, a child dies of malnutrition, tragically claiming roughly 3.1 million young lives each year. Rising inflation, food supply chain disruptions and global conflict is causing even more children to suffer,” said Rep. Kim. “The Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act helps bridge this gap by giving USAID necessary tools to deploy low-cost, evidence-based resources to areas that need support the most.”
The newly enacted measure authorizes the USAID administrator to scale up the prevention and treatment of global malnutrition and coordinate with relevant public and private partners on these efforts, and directs the USAID administrator to select priority countries to receive prioritized nutrition assistance, according to a bill summary provided by the congresswoman’s staff.
Additionally, the new law establishes clear goals for increasing coverage of high-impact, evidence-based interventions in priority countries, as well as the Nutrition Leadership Council to coordinate USAID’s efforts on preventing and treating malnutrition, the summary says.
The Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021 passed the U.S. House of Representatives on April 27, and then received U.S. Senate approval on Sept. 20 before being presented to the president for his signature to make it law.
Numerous groups endorsed the bill, including Action Against Hunger, the Alliance to End Hunger, Bread for the World, the Global Health Council, Save the Children, and UNICEF USA, among others.