By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: Support for families facing food insecurity in Sabah should be strengthened, according to a new report by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
The Sabah Child Wellbeing Index report found that 72 per cent of children in the state experience some level of food insecurity, with many going to bed hungry.
"Undernutrition remains a long-standing issue, especially among vulnerable groups.
"More than one in three undocumented or stateless children experience extreme constraints on access to food," the report said.
The 228-page study, conducted jointly by Unicef and Sabah's State Economic Planning Unit, involved 4,441 children in the presence of their caregivers across the state.
It also included 650 undocumented or stateless children and 274 children with disabilities (CWD).
Among its recommendations was the introduction of a conditional cash transfer programme for basic food needs, to be administered by the Social Welfare Department.
At the school level, Unicef urged the Education Ministry to expand its existing Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) for preschool and primary school pupils into a comprehensive school food programme extending to secondary schools.
The report also recommended exploring the procurement of locally produced food to support livelihoods and strengthen food security.
The study found that only 73.6 per cent of children were fully vaccinated, with lower health check-up coverage recorded in Sandakan and Tawau, as well as among children with disabilities.
According to the World Health Organisation, vaccination coverage for highly contagious diseases such as measles generally needs to reach about 95 per cent to achieve herd immunity.
Herd immunity occurs when enough people in a community are protected against a disease, usually through vaccination, making it more difficult for the disease to spread. It also helps protect those who cannot be vaccinated, including infants and people with certain medical conditions.
To improve vaccination rates, Unicef recommended targeted awareness campaigns in divisions with lower coverage through collaboration with community leaders and organisations working with CWD and undocumented or stateless children.
While the Sabah Health Department has been working with major plantation employers and alternative learning centres, the report said support should also be extended to smallholders to improve immunisation coverage.
"Build a firewall between the Health Department and Immigration to allow stateless populations access to vaccinations without fear of arrest, thereby encouraging their health-seeking behaviour," it said.
The report also called for a centralised immunisation registry with mandatory reporting by all public and private healthcare providers to improve accuracy and real-time monitoring.
Records involving marginalised and vulnerable groups should also be safeguarded, it added.
The full report is available on Unicef Malaysia's website.
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