AFTER reading about the worrying state of malnutrition in Malaysia recently, I then asked a question on this issue at the recent Dewan Negara sitting.
To my horror, according to the Health Ministry (MoH), it was estimated that close to half a million Malaysian children under five years of age are stunted.
My team then did a quick analysis of that data coupled with population data from the Statistics Department and we found that 21% of children under five years are estimated to be stunted.
More tellingly, Pahang has the highest incidence of stunting in children under five years old with almost one out of every two children having this issue.
This was followed by Kedah and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (24.3% respectively), Sabah and Labuan (23.8%), and Malacca (22.9%). Even the three states with the lowest rates – Negri Sembilan, Penang and Perak – have an incidence rate of 10% to 15%.
Based on the same reply from MoH, there are currently a few policies and plans in place to tackle this issue.
These are Dasar Pemakanan Kebangsaan Negara 2.0, Pelan Tindakan Pemakanan Kebangsaan Negara III, Pelan Kesihatan Kanak-kanak and Pelan Strategik Kebangsaan Memerangi Masalah Beban Berganda Malpemakanan Kanak-kanak Malaysia, 2023-2030.
There are also various advocacy and food intervention programmes being carried out to tackle this pertinent issue.
I urged everyone to look at this issue seriously as we all know that stunting and low body weight during children’s formative years will affect their brain development.
This will subsequently lead to a phenomenon known as education poverty.
Actually, Malaysia faces the threat of a double burden: stunting and obesity. This is usually caused by children not eating the right food or enough of the right foods.
According to a 2019 Unicef report, 12.7% of our children (5 to 19-year olds) are obese. We really have our plates full and must look at this malnutrition issue in a holistic manner. – The Vibes, December 23, 2023
Dr RA Lingeshwaran is a senator.
