THOUGH Education Ministry downplayed Unicef’s report malnourishment among children living in low-cost flats, the UN body is pleased that there are discussions on the matter in Malaysia. 

Unicef representative Marianne Clark-Hattingh said the discussions in and out of Parliament by lawmakers was encouraging. 

“We were happy to see a growing debate on finding new ways to improve the well-being of children living in low-cost flats and are following with interest the emerging call for universal childcare allowance, in line with one of the policy recommendations made in the report,” she said in a statement today. 

Education Minister Mahadzir Khalid had disputed the findings of the report, which claimed students were suffering deprivation and malnutrition in Malaysia. 

He said government schemes, like the supplementary food programme (known by its Malay acronym RMT) has eradicated such problems.  

Clark-Hattingh acknowledged Putrajaya’s programmes for children, but stressed that there was not enough emphasis on children in low-cost flats. 

“A wide range of government programmes has been carried out to alleviate poverty and target the most disadvantaged population, including children. 

“Whilst urbanisation has been relatively well managed, as the study reveals, heterogeneity in urban communities masks inequities and severe deprivations. 

“By focusing on children living in poor urban areas of Kuala Lumpur, this study shines a light on the situation of children living in poverty amongst us,” she added. 

The Unicef report, Children Without: A study of urban child poverty and deprivation in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur, published on February 26, finds that children living in low-cost flats are deprived in terms of nutrition, education, safety and other living conditions.

It found that 34% of children under five in Kelantan face stunted growth, followed by Terengganu and Pahang (26%) and Putrajaya, Perak, Sabah & Labuan (24%).

Stunted growth in children in Sarawak was 23%, followed by Perlis (21%), Penang (20%), Negri Sembilan (19%), Kedah (18%), Malacca (14%), Johor (12%) and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (11%).

The report, which compared countries with similar per capita GDP as Malaysia, said in terms of stunting, Malaysian children were worse than those in Ghana. – March 13, 2018.