Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be joined by my friend and colleague from Delaware, Senator Chris Coons, to reintroduce the Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2021. Our legislation would make it the policy of the United States to lead an effort to end preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and young children in the developing world by 2030.

For years Sen. Coons and I have led efforts to ensure robust funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development's maternal and child health programing, which have formed the backbone of the U.S. commitment to help end preventable child and maternal deaths globally.

Due in part to American leadership and generosity, many lives have already been saved. Nevertheless, far too many mothers, newborns, and young children under the age of five continue to succumb to disease and malnutrition that could easily be prevented. The impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbating these gaps and disproportionately affecting the world's most vulnerable, undermining decades of progress.

Nearly 300,000 women die annually from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, a significant proportion of deaths of children under the age of five occur in the first 28 days after birth, with newborns accounting for nearly 50 percent of all under-five deaths. In 2019, 5.2 million children under the age of five died from mainly preventable and treatable diseases.

Our bill aims to reach these mothers and children with simple, proven, cost-effective interventions that we know will help them survive. A concentrated effort could end preventable maternal and child deaths worldwide by the year 2030, but continued U.S. leadership and support from the international community are critical to success.

To achieve this ambitious goal, our bill would require the implementation of a strategy focused on bringing to scale the highest impact, evidence-based interventions, with a focus on country and community ownership. These interventions would be specific to each country's needs and include support for the most vulnerable populations. We do not have to guess at what interventions will work-- the reality is that thousands of children die each day of conditions we know today how to treat.

These life-saving interventions include clean birthing practices, vaccines, nutritional supplements, hand-washing with soap, and other basic needs that remain elusive for far too many women and children in developing countries. This must change.

In addition, our bill proposes the establishment a Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator at USAID who would focus on implementing the five- year strategy and verifying that the most effective interventions are being scaled up in target countries. The bill would improve government efficiency across several agencies that would collaborate with the Coordinator to identify and promote the most effective interventions to end preventable maternal and child deaths globally.

To promote transparency and greater accountability, our bill also would also require detailed public reporting on progress toward implementing the strategy.

Other bipartisan initiatives, such as the successful President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which was started by President George W. Bush, demonstrate that results driven interventions can turn the tide for global health challenges. Applying lessons learned from past initiatives, our bill would provide the focus and the tools necessary to accelerate progress toward ending preventable maternal and child deaths.

I urge my colleagues to join Senator Coons and me in supporting this legislation that will save the lives of mothers and children around the world.

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