progress against global hunger and poverty.3 A large and
growing evidence base shows that solutions to improve
nutrition in the 1,000-day window are readily available,
affordable, and cost-effective.
A leading medical journal, The Lancet, made specific
recommendations in a ground-breaking study focused on
maternal and child nutrition.4 In 2008, it published a highprofile series that assessed the disease burden attributable
to malnutrition and the interventions aimed at solving
the problem. These focused on increasing household food
availability and use, improving care of pregnant women and
young children, and controlling infectious diseases.
The Lancet’s findings include:
Anne Tinker/Photoshare
• Stunting, wasting and intrauterine growth restrictions
are responsible for 2.2 million deaths per year in
children under age 5. Much of this can be traced to
diets deficient in vitamin A, zinc, iron, and iodine.
• These nutritional deficiencies contribute to mortality
from HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases.
• Nutritional deficiencies harm brain development and
cognitive ability in children, leading to declines in adult
productivity.
• Effective nutrition interventions exist—such as
promotion of breast feeding, improved complementary
feeding following weaning, and micronutrient
supplementation.
• 80 percent of the world’s undernourished children
live in just 20 countries. Country governments need to
support nutrition actions that have proven effectiveness
rapidly and at scale.
U.S. Government Leadership on Food Security
and Nutrition
Shortly after The Lancet series appeared, the U.S.
government began to renew its efforts to reduce global
hunger. Other bilateral donors, multilateral development
banks, and international organizations are stepping up to
meet the challenge of ending global hunger and malnutrition.
President Obama made references to addressing global
hunger in his January 2009 inaugural address to the nation,
and the administration’s pivotal efforts at the G-8 meeting
later that year in L’Aquila, Italy, led to broader international
commitments to help reduce hunger.
More specifically, donor countries committed $22 billion
over three years to help resolve the long-term underlying
causes of hunger and also promised to maintain funding
levels for emergency food assistance. The United States
pledged $3.5 billion in new funding over three years.
Even though the period since the L’Aquila meeting has
been one of global recession and national budget austerity,
www.bread.org
A South American mother and child await food aid distribution.
the United States has not only nearly reached the $3.5 billion
pledge of new funding but has also maintained funding
for vital emergency programs. This funding included an
average of $1.78 billion per year for the main U.S. food aid
program, known as P.L. 480 Title II food aid after the public
law provision that authorizes it; $194.5 million annually for
the McGovern-Dole school feeding assistance program, and
an additional $300 million for the Emergency Food Security
Program managed by USAID.
In addition, the United States has demonstrated
considerable leadership in meeting the nutrition needs of
pregnant women and young children through its launch,
jointly with Ireland, of the 1,000 Days Partnership5 to support
the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement.6 The 1,000
Days Partnership promotes targeted action and investment
to improve nutrition for mothers and children during this
window, when better nutrition can improve the rest of a child’s
life and help break the cycle of poverty. SUN brings together
more than 100 organizations and governments committed to
working together to fight hunger and malnutrition.
How Food Aid is Supplied and Used
Food aid is used to fight hunger in humanitarian
emergencies. It also helps improve food security in fooddeficit countries, where people are chronically hungry. Food
aid