KUALA LUMPUR: The community farming programme needs to be expanded in local communities in urban areas to address the issue of malnutrition among children living in these areas, said the Prime Minister’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail .
She said this step is necessary considering the percentage of children experiencing growth problems or stunting in the country, including in urban areas, is relatively high due to nutritional deficiencies.
“Therefore, I have proposed to the Prime Minister’s Political Secretary, Datuk Azman Abidin, to establish community farming in the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency to help address this issue by identifying any land that can be cultivated to grow vegetables such as cucumbers or ladies fingers, which are easy to cultivate.
“However, we also need to consider management because there needs to be a responsible body as we do not want the project to be just a flash in the pan,“ she told reporters after officiating the Urban Community Feeding Centre at the Desa Tun Razak People’s Housing Project (PPR) here today.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bandar Tun Razak, said in Kuala Lumpur, the Community Feeding Programme has been ongoing since December 2022 and is still continuing until today, involving 56 children.
“Desa Tun Razak PPR was chosen as the location for the implementation of this programme because it is one of the study centres by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2018.
“This intervention programme is a feeding programme targeting children aged one to six from urban poor families by providing supplementary food (five times a week) as an assurance of nutritious food availability,“ she said.
Meanwhile Dr Wan Azizah said all planned and implemented government initiatives should involve parents, families, communities, government agencies, and non-governmental organisations so that the country’s aspiration to improve the well-being and health of children can be successful.–Bernama
