PETALING JAYA: Children living in low-cost housing or People's Housing Projects (PPRs) in Kuala Lumpur (KL) face high rates of poverty and malnutrition compared with the national average, a Unicef study revealed. Titled "Children without: A study of urban child poverty and deprivation in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur", the study also noted that poverty impairs the education opportunities of children living in low-cost flats. While the national poverty rate is less than 1%, the report indicated that 99.7% of children in low-cost flats live in relative poverty and 7% in absolute poverty. To support the 2050 National Transformation (TN50) and Agenda 2030, the report recommends several government policies and interventions to alleviate child poverty in urban areas. Among the recommendations are revisiting poverty indicators, namely the Poverty Line Income (PLI), and using multidimensional indicators that include the nutritional status of children and relative income poverty.

Source: The Star February 26, 2018 09:33 UTC