Video: Secretary Clinton's Remarks to 1000 Days Event Chicago

Video Address to 1,000 Days Event in Chicago

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

May 21, 2012

---

Greetings from Washington. I’d like to thank Mayor Emanuel, the City of Chicago, World Business Chicago and all the civil society partners that have joined together for this truly exceptional summit – “1,000 Days to Change the Future: Making Malnutrition History.” As hosts of this year’s G8 and NATO summits, the U.S. is proud to work with our partners to drive progress toward a more peaceful and prosperous world. We believe that food and nutrition security for all are an integral part of the foundation upon which democracy, economic growth and stability rest. Science has taught us how we can take action to build a stronger foundation and break the cycle of hunger and poverty. We know that malnutrition in the 1,000 day window between pregnancy and a child’s second birthday leaves children increasingly vulnerable to disease, impairs their cognitive and physical development, and lessens their lifetime earning potential. By improving nutrition during this critical 1,000 day window, we can prevent almost 3 million child deaths per year.
And as leading economists will tell you, improving nutrition for mothers and children is one of the most cost-effective and impactful tools we have for poverty alleviation and sustainable development.
That is why I launched the 1,000 Days Partnership in 2010 to support SUN – the Scaling Up Nutrition movement – and draw attention to the 1,000-day window of opportunity. 27 leaders have signed up to SUN in their countries and are already making significant progress.
At today’s summit, we have an opportunity to help accelerate global action on malnutrition. Governments, businesses, universities, civil society organizations, and foundations must invest now to bring proven models and programs to scale, or we risk diminishing the impact of our other investments in education, health, food security, and economic growth.
If we act together, we can start making malnutrition a thing of the past…we can safeguard the futures of millions of children and finally make malnutrition history. Thank you for all that you are doing, and I look forward to hearing all about your work at today’s important event.