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Publication Date: January, 2019

JCI-JSC-WP-2019-01: Stunting in Malaysia: Costs, Causes and Courses for Action

Publication date: June 2019 | Length of paper: 40 pages | ISBN: 978-967-5492-15-0

Childhood stunting has recently garnered public attention in Malaysia, but there remains a general lack of understanding surrounding the issue.

Policymakers and the general public have mostly focused on the immediate causes of stunting, particularly on inadequate dietary intake, but have not paid as much attention to the underlying determinants of stunting.

This paper seeks to contribute to the knowledge gap by: (i) highlighting the causes and effects of stunting; (ii) identifying statistical and historical trends on stunting in Malaysia; (iii) assessing Malaysia’s performance in the underlying determinants of stunting; and (iv) providing policy recommendations on addressing stunting among Malaysian children.

Author(s)

  Derek Kok Qi Ren

Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia

Senior Research Analyst
 

The JCI-JSC Working Paper series is published to disseminate preliminary research findings and stimulate intellectual discourse on wide-ranging public policy issues, ranging from security to sustainability. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia and the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development.