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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 27, 2018 - March 5, 2018

Twice as many children living in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur are stunted compared with the average of their peers in the city, a new report by Unicef Malaysia and DM Analytics shows.

Worryingly, the rate of stunting among underprivileged children in Kuala Lumpur of 22% is even higher than the national average of 20.7% in 2016. The 2016 national average is a concern in itself as it rose from 17% in 2006.

“The level of stunting in Malaysia is even worse than Ghana’s (18.8%) despite [our] gross domestic product (GDP) per capita being six times higher,” pointed out DM Analytics managing director and chief economist Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid.

The situation is even dire when data is broken down by states. More children in Kelantan are stunted (34%) compared to low-income countries such as Zimbabwe (27.6%) and Swaziland (25.5%), the study showed.

“Even in the richest district in Malaysia, Putrajaya, 24% of children are stunted, higher than the national average,” the report entitled “Children Without: A study of urban child poverty and deprivation in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur” highlighted.

Incidents of stunting are notably higher among older children aged four versus those aged two, which is when they have been weaned off breast milk and are fed solid food, noted Muhammed.

The study, which collected data from 966 heads of household and 2,142 children living in low-cost flats across 17 different locations in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, showed that 23% of children aged four are stunted, with 22% underweight and 32% wasting, or thinner than the average of their peers.

Muhammed pointed out that by World Health Organization standards, a rate of over 30% is considered a “public health concern”.

Malnourishment also has serious implications on a child’s learning capacity and capability later in life, according to Dr Amjad Rabi, deputy representative and senior social policy specialist at Unicef Malaysia.

“As we strive towards TN50, we cannot afford to have unhealthy, unproductive kids,” Rabi said, pointing out that by the year 2050, these children will be working adults in their 30s.

The problem may have begun even before birth as 30.8% of pregnant women are found to be anaemic, according to the 2016 National Health and Morbidity Survey.

Muhammed stressed that stunting is irreversible, and that health problems due to malnutrition among children can prevail into adulthood.

The survey revealed that more than one in 10 children have less than three meals a day, with 97% of households saying high food prices prevent them from preparing healthy meals for their children.

On top of that, half of the respondents said they did not have enough money to buy food in recent months, with 15% experiencing this frequently, the study found.

Muhammed highlighted that the high prices of dairy products have made it among one of the most lacking components of a child’s diet.

“Although global prices for dairy have declined, the opposite trend has been seen in Malaysia,” he said, referring to a 2016 State of Households II report by Khazanah Research Institute.

While the report showed that Malaysia is dependent on milk imports to fulfil a significant 95% of its consumer demand, local dairy prices reflect neither the global nor export prices of its major import sources.

“We have supply-side problems for dairy in Malaysia, such as a lack of investment in agriculture,” Rabi said.

The report recommends several policy measures to address the issue of poor nutrition, including a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and working arrangements for mothers to facilitate at least six months of proper, exclusive breastfeeding.

The results of the study are a collaborative attempt by Unicef Malaysia and DM Analytics to focus on the “last and least” of society, instead of looking only at aggregated data.

“Proximity to services unfortunately does not automatically translate into equal access for the poor in Kuala Lumpur,” said Marianne Clark-Hattingh, Unicef Malaysia’s representative, adding that heterogeneity masked inequality.

“Problems that go unmeasured go unsolved,” she said at the launch of the report yesterday.

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