Statement of policy

The following shall be the policy of the United States: (1) To advance foreign policy, national security and economic interests, by strategically supporting partner countries to invest in maternal and child survival and health programs. The United States shall make maternal and child survival a key objective of United States global health and foreign assistance strategies and programs. (2) To support programs that reduce preventable death among mothers, newborns, and children and enable them to thrive, which promotes more stable and prosperous societies and advances the United States diplomatic and commercial position with partner countries. United States assistance programs for maternal and child health shall seek to— (A) reduce preventable child and maternal mortality in priority countries to 12 percent or lower of total deaths by 2030; and (B) increase coverage levels for the target set of life-saving interventions listed in subsection 4 within 10 to 15 priority countries to a level of at least 70 percent by 2030. (3) 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 malnutrition. (4) To prioritize the highest impact prevention and treatment interventions targeted towards prenatal, delivery, postnatal, newborn and child care, including prevention and management of complications and infections during pregnancy, access to skilled birth attendants, breastfeeding support, care of small or sick newborns, screening and treatment for malnutrition, vitamin A and other micronutrient supplements, child immunization, and treatments for childhood diseases including diarrhea and pneumonia.