Global HIV/AIDS Food Security and Nutrition Support Act of 2007 - Amends the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 to direct the Global AIDS Coordinator to: (1) ensure that an assessment of the food security and nutritional status of each patient enrolled in anti-retroviral medication treatment program is carried out; (2) provide food and nutrition support to each HIV-infected individual and his or her household for at least 180 days; (3) coordinate activities with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Secretary of Agriculture, and other relevant U.S. government departments and agencies; (4) develop indicators to measure the effectiveness of nutrition and food security interventions; and (5) support linkages between U.S. colleges and universities with colleges and universities in focus countries in order to provide training and build indigenous capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS and to improve capacity to address nutrition and livelihood needs of HIV/AIDS-affected and impoverished communities.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4914 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4914
To amend the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis,
and Malaria Act of 2003 to provide for the integration of food security
and nutrition activities into prevention, care, treatment, and support
activities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 19, 2007
Mr. Payne (for himself, Ms. Watson, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Jackson-Lee of
Texas, and Mr. Miller of North Carolina) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis,
and Malaria Act of 2003 to provide for the integration of food security
and nutrition activities into prevention, care, treatment, and support
activities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global HIV/AIDS Food Security and
Nutrition Support Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The spread of HIV/AIDS is exacerbated by poverty, and
economic and social vulnerability, disempowerment, and
inequality.
(2) Food insecurity has a direct detrimental impact on
prevention, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
(3) Programming for HIV/AIDS must address the underlying
factors that contribute to the spread of the disease in order
to be effective and sustainable.
(4) The World Food Program estimates that 6,400,000 people
affected by HIV will need nutritional support by 2008.
(5) The highest rates of HIV infections are in countries
with significant rates of malnutrition, especially in sub-
Saharan Africa.
(6) People living with HIV/AIDS are less productive due to
illness, which contributes to food insecurity for such
individuals and their households through loss of wages and/or
decreased agricultural production.
(7) People caring for HIV-infected persons are often less
productive because of the demands of caring for those persons,
which in turn can lead to food insecurity for the infected
person and the entire household.
(8) Adequate nutrition can extend the time that people
infected with HIV are able to work and be productive.
(9) Food insecurity is often cited by people living with
HIV/AIDS as their number one concern.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) malnutrition, especially for people living with and
affected by HIV/AIDS, is a clinical health issue with wider
nutrition, health, and social implications for HIV-infected
individuals, their families, and communities that must be
addressed by United States HIV/AIDS prevention, care,
treatment, and support programs;
(2) international guidelines established by the World
Health Organization should serve as the reference standard for
HIV/AIDS food and nutrition activities supported by the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR);
(3) the Coordinator of United States Government Activities
to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (commonly known as the ``Global
AIDS Coordinator'') should make it a priority to work with
other United States Government departments and agencies,
donors, and multilateral institutions to increase the
integration of food and nutrition support and livelihood
activities into prevention, care, and treatment activities
funded by the United States and other governments and
organizations;
(4) for the purposes of determining which HIV-infected
individuals should be provided with nutrition and food support,
a patient with a body mass index of 18.5 or less should be
considered ``malnourished'' and should be given priority for
nutrition and food support;
(5) programs funded by the United States Government should
include therapeutic and supplementary feeding, food, and
nutrition support and should include strong links to
development programs that focus on support for livelihoods; and
(6) the inability of HIV-infected individuals to access
food for themselves or their families should not be allowed to
impair or erode the therapeutic status of such individuals with
respect to HIV or related comorbidities.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) address the food and nutrition needs of HIV-infected
and affected individuals, including orphans and vulnerable
children;
(2) fully integrate food and nutrition support into care,
treatment, and support programs carried out under the United
States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-25; 22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.);
(3) ensure that--
(A) care, treatment, and support providers and
healthcare workers are adequately trained such that
they can provide accurate and informed information
regarding food and nutrition support to patients
enrolled in treatment and care programs and those
affected by HIV; and
(B) HIV-infected individuals identified as food
insecure, as well as their households, are provided
with adequate food and nutrition support; and
(4) effectively link food and nutrition support to HIV-
infected individuals and their households and communities
provided under Public Law 108-25 to other food security and
livelihood programs funded by the United States Government and
other donors and multilateral agencies.
SEC. 5. INTEGRATION OF FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION ACTIVITIES INTO HIV/
AIDS PREVENTION, CARE, TREATMENT, AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES.
Section 301 of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-25; 22 U.S.C.
7631) is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the
following:
``(c) Integration of Food Security and Nutrition Activities Into
Prevention, Care, Treatment, and Support Activities.--
``(1) Statement of policy.--Congress declares that food
security and nutrition directly impact a patient's
vulnerability to HIV infection, the progression of HIV to AIDS,
a patient's ability to begin an anti-retroviral medication
treatment regimen, the efficacy of an anti-retroviral
medication treatment regimen once a patient begins such a
regimen, and the ability of communities to effectively cope
with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its impacts.
``(2) Requirements.--Consistent with the statement of
policy in paragraph (1), the Global AIDS Coordinator shall--
``(A) ensure that--
``(i) an assessment, using validated
criteria, of the food security and nutritional
status of each patient enrolled in anti-
retroviral medication treatment programs
supported with funds authorized under this Act
or any amendment made by this Act is carried
out; and
``(ii) appropriate nutritional counseling
is provided to each patient described in clause
(i);
``(B) provide, as an essential component of anti-
retroviral medication treatment programs supported with
funds authorized under this Act or any amendment made
by this Act, food and nutrition support to each HIV-
infected individual who is determined to need such
support by the assessing health professional, and the
individual's household, for a period of not less than
180 days, either directly or through referral to an
assistance program or organization with demonstrable
ability to provide such support;
``(C) coordinate with the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, the
Secretary of Agriculture, and heads of other relevant
United States Government departments and agencies to--
``(i) ensure that, in communities in which
a significant proportion of HIV-infected
individuals are in need of food and nutrition
support, a status and needs assessment for such
support employing validated criteria is
conducted and a plan to provide such support is
developed and implemented;
``(ii) improve and enhance coordination
between food security and livelihood programs
for HIV-infected individuals in focus countries
and food security and livelihood programs that
may already exist in those countries;
``(iii) establish effective linkages
between the health and agricultural development
and livelihoods sectors in order to enhance
food security; and
``(iv) ensure, by providing increased
resources if necessary, effective coordination
between activities authorized under this Act or
any amendment made by this Act and activities
carried out under other provisions of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 when
establishing new HIV/AIDS treatment sites;
``(D) develop effective, validated indicators which
measure outcomes of nutrition and food security
interventions carried out under this section and use
such indicators to monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of such interventions; and
``(E) support and expand partnerships and linkages
between United States colleges and universities with
colleges and universities in focus countries in order
to provide training and build indigenous human and
institutional capacity and expertise to respond to HIV/
AIDS, and to improve capacity to address nutrition,
food security and livelihood needs of HIV/AIDS-affected
and impoverished communities.
``(3) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of the Global HIV/AIDS Food Security and
Nutrition Support Act of 2007, and annually thereafter, the
Global AIDS Coordinator shall submit to Congress a report on
the implementation of this subsection for the prior fiscal
year. The report shall include a description of--
``(A) the indicators described in paragraph (2)(D)
and a description of the effectiveness of interventions
carried out to improve the nutritional status of HIV-
infected individuals;
``(B) the amount of funds provided for food and
nutrition support for HIV-infected and affected
individuals in the prior fiscal year and the projected
amount of funds to be provided for such purpose for
next fiscal year; and
``(C) a strategy for improving the linkage between
assistance provided with funds authorized under this
subsection and food security and livelihood programs
under other provisions of law as well as activities
funded by other donors and multilateral organizations.
``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Focus countries.--The term `focus countries'
means countries described in section
1(f)(2)(B)(ii)(VII) of the State Department Basic
Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by section 102(a) of
this Act) and designated by the President pursuant to
such section.
``(B) Global aids coordinator.--The term `Global
AIDS Coordinator' means the Coordinator of United
States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS
Globally (as described in section 1(f) of the State
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by
section 102(a) of this Act)).
``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this
subsection, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Global AIDS Coordinator such sums as may be necessary for each
of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014.''
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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