1,000 Days Statement on FY24 Minibus
Washington, D.C., March 25, 2024 – Last Friday, Congress passed a fiscal year (FY) 2024 minibus spending bill, which includes funding for some key U.S. foreign assistance accounts that combat malnutrition. We applaud the passage of this bipartisan bill, while recognizing there is still work to be done to ensure all families have a happy and healthy first 1,000 days.
1,000 Days was grateful to see a modest increase to the Nutrition Account, but was dismayed that overall State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs funding levels fell short of FY23 levels. For the first time in history, annual deaths of children under 5 have dropped below 5 million, a staggering decrease from 1990 when nearly 13 million children under 5 died each year. While we celebrate this incredible progress, now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. Globally, there is still 1 child death every 6 seconds and nearly 1 in 4 children worldwide has had their growth stunted by malnutrition. U.S. global leadership has reached families across the global with low-cost, quality, and effective health services and continued commitment is needed to end preventable maternal and child deaths.
“Malnutrition is still the greatest threat to child survival worldwide. U.S. investments support delivery of cost-effective, proven, life-saving services in countries around the world and maintaining that investment is crucial”
Solianna Meaza, Acting Initiative Director, 1,000 Days
We look forward to working with the Administration and colleagues in Congress to strengthen our FY25 appropriations with stronger global investments, including:
- $300 million in the Global Nutrition Subaccount;
- $1.15 billion for Maternal and Child Health, including $340 million for Gavi; and
- New and additional funding to support the United States’ flagship food security program, Feed the Future.