10 May 2021

Snakes and ladders: navigating uncertainty in the new normal

PUTRAJAYA, 11 MAY 2021, – Fourth and final edition of Families on the Edge launched today by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Economic Affairs, YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed. The latest survey conducted in February 2021 found that median household income among participant families had recovered to 95...
10 May 2021

Families on the Edge (Issue 4)

The Families on the Edge research project was commissioned by UNICEF and UNFPA to support evidence-informed policy-making and public dialogue on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and children in low-income urban families in Malaysia, as well as the relevance, adequacy and accessibility of public policy ...
19 January 2021

COVID 19 Policy Brief Series

Introduction, UNICEF Malaysia’s Policy Brief Series are concise and informative analyses on Malaysia’s most pressing policy challenges impacting children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each Policy Brief within this series targets a specific audience in order to draw together the impact of COVID-19 on children from ...
13 January 2021

Avoiding a Child Welfare Crisis

Social welfare services are critical to keeping children safe and mitigating the longer-term social consequences of the pandemic. However, evidence indicates that social service providers have faced significant challenges in delivering services due to social distancing and lockdown measures, restrictions of moveme...
24 August 2020

Families on the Edge: Low-income families need continued support to recover from the effects of COVID-19

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 August 2020, – Early results of a longitudinal study commissioned by United Nations agencies UNFPA and UNICEF show that low income families in Kuala Lumpur have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The report is conducted in partnership with DM Analytics, a Malaysia-based publi...
24 August 2020

Families on the Edge (Issue 1)

In May 2020 UNICEF and UNFPA jointly commissioned the Families on the Edge study to explore the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women and children in low income urban families in Malaysia. This report is the first in a series of reports under the Families on the Edge project and describes the immediate socio-econ...
21 April 2019

The role of journalism in eradicating poverty

It was many, many years ago when I had my first encounter with poverty. If you have ever been to Jakarta, you would know that it is a highly populated city filled with skyscrapers, luxury condominiums and numerous shopping malls. Then there are the densely-built shacks, informal settlements, squatters and slums - ...
21 April 2019

How journalism can eradicate urban child poverty

Poverty is an issue every living person in the entire world knows about; something unpreventable. Even in what seems to be this rich and developed country of ours, poverty prevails within Malaysia. We would think that poverty rates would be rising in the rural areas of our country, but little do we know, poverty r...
21 April 2019

The role of journalism in eradicating urban child poverty

Journalism is one of the pillars of society. This has been proven since the early 19th century by the writer Walter Lippmann. He believed that journalists fulfilled the role of mediator between the general public and the elites. The general consensus among the people is that the journalists provide a window for th...
03 April 2019

Children without

This study, based on the sample of urban poor in low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur revealed some findings on multidimensional child poverty. In particular, it highlights the impact on malnourishment that needs to be addressed.
21 February 2018

Urban child poverty: does size matter?

The rapid growth of urban population in Malaysia has created more demand pertaining to the basic needs of people such as affordable housing, access to healthcare and education, and sanitation facilities among others.
21 February 2018

Introducing and costing a child grant in Malaysia

This rapid exercise illustrates the affordability of introducing a Child Grant in Malaysia that is based on the inclusive life-cycle approach. The study uses a range of cost scenarios to build evidence and concrete figures to allow policy makers to better assess opportunities and potential challenges while conside...