Bread for the World is working to get members of Congress to sign on to a Dear Colleague Letter requesting $300 million in additional spending for international food aid. They are hoping to get NH Rep. Ann Kuster to sign onto this letter. Sam Cooper-Wall is Rep. Ann Kuster’s Legislative Aid on Food and Agriculture. He can be reached in DC at 202-225-5206.
Bread for the World is asking for support in the following ways:
- Call DC and ask to speak to Sam. If they don’t get him, leave a message. Ask that Rev. Kuster sign on to the Jacobs, McGovern “Dear Colleague Letter” that she signed onto last year requesting robust funding for the Global Nutrition and Maternal and Child Health Accounts in Fiscal 2023.
- Personalize the email below and send with this attachment to Sam Cooper-Wall at sam.cooper-wall@mail.house.gov
- Reach out to Paul Manganiello to let him know you’ve taken these actions, so that he can let Bread for the World know how many calls and emails of support they’ve rallied. Every bit of support helps!
Here’s the Sample eMail Message:
Hi Sam,
On behalf of our Bread for the World members in the district, I wanted to make sure you saw the Dear Colleague letter below from Reps. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jacobs (D-CA), McGovern (D-MA) and Kim (R-CA). The Dear Colleague asks for signers to a letter to the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee calling for robust funding for the global Nutrition and Maternal and Child Health Accounts in fiscal year 2023. We are grateful your boss has supported previous efforts to address global malnutrition, including signing a letter last year asking for increased funding in FY 2022 for the global nutrition account. We hope Rep. Kuster will do so again by signing on to the letter below!
Rates of severe malnutrition are increasing due to rising food prices, increasing humanitarian situations and disruptions from the pandemic. We’ve included a one-pager on how this investment of at least $300 million in the Global Health Nutrition sub-account will help meet the growing need for nutrition programming and prevent the negative impacts of increasing conflict and instability on malnutrition from further multiplying. With an annual investment of $300 million, the United States government would save the lives of more than 30,000 children annually.
In addition, this funding could annually:
- Prevent stunting for more than 553,000 people.
- Cure more than 12 million women from anemia.
- Support mothers to breastfeed more than 5.5 million additional children.
- Provide life-saving treatment for 3,000,000 kids.
I know our Bread for the World members and partner congregations in the district would be grateful and excited to have your boss sign on to this letter. Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide and how else we can be helpful. You can also reach out to Amanda with Rep. Jacobs at Amanda.Newman@mail.house.gov or Jacqueline with Rep. Fitzpatrick at Jacqueline.Collie@mail.house.gov with additional questions and to sign on.
Thanks so much, Sam, and we look forward to hearing from you!
Blessings,
Support Full Funding for Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Global Health in FY2023 Sending Office: Honorable Sara Jacobs Sent By: Jordan.Nasif@mail.house.gov Request for Signature(s) SIGN ON HERE Dear Colleague, Please join us in sending a letter to the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee calling for robust funding for the global Maternal and Child Health Account, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Nutrition Account in fiscal year 2023. The full text of the letter is below. Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition funding is among the most cost-effective, life-changing investments the U.S. can make. This funding is a foundational investment across global health programming, and it is critical to preserving evidence-based, poverty-focused assistance that saves lives and helps strengthen economies across the globe. This funding is particularly urgent as increasing conflict and instability put child and maternal health at even greater risk. You can join the letter using this Quill link. For any additional questions, please contact Amanda (Jacobs) at Amanda.Newman@mail.house.gov or Jacqueline (Fitzpatrick) at Jacqueline.Collie@mail.house.gov. Sincerely, SARA JACOBS BRIAN FITZPATRICK Member of Congress Member of Congress JIM MCGOVERN YOUNG KIM Member of Congress Member of Congress Letter Text: Dear Chairwoman Lee and Ranking Member Rogers, As you determine priorities for the Fiscal Year 2023 State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, we respectfully request that you provide $1.1 billion for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) account— which includes $290 million for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance—and $300 million for the Nutrition Account within the Global Health Programs account at USAID. Adequate funding for the MCH and Nutrition accounts is critical to preserving effective, evidence-based, poverty-focused assistance that saves lives and helps strengthen economies in developing countries. This Committee has a long-standing record of supporting critical, life-saving investments in global child and maternal health and nutrition. In 2020 alone, USAID helped more than 92 million women and children access essential—and often lifesaving—health services, reaching 27 million children under five years old and 8 million pregnant women with high impact, life-saving nutrition interventions. While reductions in global mortality rates for women and children are two of the biggest success stories in international development, there remain significant gaps that additional investments can help close. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 5.2 million children under age five died from mainly preventable and treatable diseases each year, with malnutrition as the underlying cause of roughly half of these deaths. Additionally, 300,000 women die annually of preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. COVID-19 continues to interrupt routine and necessary health and nutrition services. The MCH account supports delivery of cost-effective, proven, life-saving services in countries where the burden of preventable deaths is the highest. USAID’s investments provide access to skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care, training for frontline health workers, life-saving health commodities, and nutrition services like breastfeeding support. A critical portion of the MCH account supports Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a public-private partnership that has helped to immunize a whole generation – more than 888 million children – and prevented more than 15 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. As Gavi bolsters efforts to continue routine immunization and deliver COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries, USAID’s technical support is essential to support these efforts and enable more equitable access to vaccines. The Nutrition account supports nutrition programs for women and children, focusing on the first 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday. Severely malnourished children are much more likely to die than their well-nourished peers and are at risk of permanent physical and mental stunting, which prevents them from reaching their full educational, social, and earning potential. Twenty-five percent of the world’s children are stunted, which accounts for billions in lost economic activity. Pandemic-related disruptions to food and health systems threaten to undo years of progress, with experts estimating that by the end of 2022, an additional 17 million children will be severely malnourished. The significant and dire impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had and continues to have on the world’s most vulnerable children requires significantly increased funding. These accounts have received only the most modest increases for years. We respectfully urge you to provide $1.1 billion for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Account—which includes $290 million for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance—and $300 million for the Nutrition Account for FY 2023. Thank you for your serious consideration of this request. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in this global effort. |
Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry 