A child’s age, weight and height being recorded during the Mini Fiesta Saringan Asas Kanak-Kanak in Taman Muda, Ampang.
HUBS to promote healthy eating habits among children and address child growth and development issues will be set up in all nine districts in Selangor, says Jamaliah Jamaluddin.
The state public health and environment committee chairman said as an expansion of the “Anak Selangor Anak Sihat” (Asas) programme, these centres would serve as screening and information hubs to educate the public on nutrition and wellness.
Depending on results of the screening, the children would be provided with food baskets to suit their intake needs.
She said that the hubs would be located in all 56 assemblymen’s service centres.
“The first step is to offer free health screenings for children to determine their nutritional status and identify any growth and development issues early on.
“With the information, our experts and volunteers will provide personalised guidance and support to the children and their families.
“These children will be monitored for six months to chart any improvements,” she said.
Jamaliah Jamaluddin
Jamaliah said the objective was to provide early intervention for malnutrition and obesity issues among children.
To facilitate this, she said “Karnival Asas” would be organised in each of the 56 areas to encourage parents to have their children screened.
The aim was to have 500 children screened at each location, she said.
“At the moment, we have little data on the number of children who are affected by these issues.
“These (screenings) will allow us to obtain the necessary information, (when) done systematically and efficiently,” she said after launching the “Mini Fiesta Saringan Asas Kanak-Kanak” at Taman Muda community hall in Ampang.
At the event, information on each participating child’s age, weight and height was gathered and recorded.
“Karnival Asas is a continuation of a previous programme where we provided nutritious food packages directly to selected individuals.
“However, we could only target a limited number of children and it was not enough to make a significant impact; hence the carnival and hubs,” she said.
Jamaliah said the state had allocated RM700,000 to carry out Asas programmes this year.
The Asas programme started in 2021 in collaboration with International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) to conduct a long-term intervention programme targeting B40 children.
Other activities at the carnival were free eye checks, games, and a talk by the Fire and Rescue Department.
A mobile library was also present to encourage reading among kids.
The main attraction was free durian for participants, sponsored by several Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) councillors.
Also present were MPAJ president Dr Ani Ahmad and Teratai assemblyman Yew Jia Haur.
