Exciting progress on our global nutrition and education bills


September 22, 2022
by Katie Fleischer, Advocacy Associate

Tuesday was an exciting day for our Fall 2022 campaign, and it’s time to celebrate and continue your amazing advocacy work! Congress moved two of our global policy bills forward, signaling their commitment to global nutrition and education. This fall, we’re focusing on three important global policy bills: the End TB Now Act, the READ Act Reauthorization Act, and the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act. Your outreach has already made a difference, helping us gain cosponsors and ask Congressional leadership to hold votes.

Our months of work on the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act paid off this week when the Senate passed the bill unanimously in a voice vote. Because they passed the version of the bill already approved by the House, it can now go directly to the White House for President Biden’s signature. 

This is a huge victory that could help save millions of lives around the world. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of half of all preventable deaths of children under five. But this bill will make USAID nutrition programs more effective and impactful. It directs USAID to focus on “The Power 4” interventions that will help prevent children from dying of severe malnutrition. The Power 4 refers to access to prenatal vitamins, supporting breastfeeding, large-scale vitamin A supplementation, and coverage of specialized foods for treatment of severe malnutrition. 

We also succeeded in moving the READ Act one step closer to becoming law. The Act passed the full House, thanks to the 55 cosponsors you encouraged to sign on. This progress shows that Congress is committed to addressing the global learning loss caused by COVID and promoting access to basic education for all. Next, we need senators to step up as well by signing on as cosponsors and moving the bill through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC).

The READ Act would extend the 2017 READ Act for an additional five years, ensuring that USAID can continue to improve and implement their global education strategy. It would make their programs more effective and accountable, and help support the 616 million students still facing school closures and severe education gaps. 

Thank you for all of your work to contact members of Congress, raise awareness of these bills in the media, and educate others in your community. The results of our advocacy are clear this week, and we can use this momentum to push for more READ Act cosponsors in the Senate, as well as End TB Now Act cosponsors in both the House and the Senate. 

On our Fall 2022 Campaigns page, you can track the progress of the bills, check if your members of Congress are cosponsors, and find Laser Talks and other resources to help you continue the fight for equitable global health and education policies!

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