LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim April 19-26, 2015, as Malnutrition Awareness Week in the State
of New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official
weeks that are set aside to increase awareness of serious conditions
that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorial-
ize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 19-26, 2015, as Malnutri-
tion Awareness Week in the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Malnutrition is responsible for half of all deaths in chil-
dren under the age of five, which translates into three million deaths
per annum; and
WHEREAS, Only three percent of the 20 million children suffering from
severe acute malnutrition each year receive the treatment they need; the
World Bank estimates that US $12 billion a year is needed to scale up
effective nutrition programs that meet current needs; and
WHEREAS, Malnutrition weakens resistance and increases the risk of
dying from pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles or AIDS; these five
diseases are responsible for half of the 9.8 million deaths in children
under five every year; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 20 million children suffer from severe acute
malnutrition (SAM), and another 175 million are undernourished; without
access to nutrient rich diets, nine children will die every minute of
causes related to malnutrition; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, one in four children under age five worldwide had
stunted growth due to malnutrition, and worldwide, 99 million children
under age 5 were underweight due to malnutrition; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure house-
holds, including 33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children; 14
percent of households (17.5 million households) were food insecure, and
six percent of households (6.8 million households) experienced very low
food security; and
WHEREAS, Households with children reported food insecurity at a
significantly higher rate than those without children, 20 percent
compared to 12 percent; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, households that had higher rates of food insecu-
rity than the national average included households with children (20%),
especially households with children headed by single women (34%) or
single men (23%), Black non-Hispanic households (26%) and Hispanic
households (24%); and
WHEREAS, In 2011, 4.8 million seniors (over age 60), or eight percent
of all seniors were food insecure; food insecurity exists in every coun-
ty in America, ranging from a low of four percent in Slope County, North
Dakota, to a high of 33 percent in Humphreys County, Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body recognizes the importance of Malnutri-
tion Awareness Week in promoting public and media attention to the seri-
ousness of malnutrition, and for working to improve education about its
causes and its treatments, as well as how to help those who are struggl-
ing with this debilitating condition; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 19-26, 2015, as
Malnutrition Awareness Week in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.