The People’s Health Forum (PHF) has urged the new government to resume Rancangan Makanan Tambahan (RMT), or Supplementary Food Programme, for schoolchildren to prevent students from lower-income families nationwide from going hungry.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, over 500,000 Malaysian students from low-income households relied on RMT annually to acquire sufficient nutrients.
“Given that the funding for the programme for 2021 has already been approved and allocated, there is no excuse for the programme to stop running.
“The schools must continue RMT immediately,” the group said in a statement today.
PHF said there is little reason to put the programme on hold during school closures, given that funding for the programme has been expanded, and food production and delivery are still allowed during the lockdown.
Pointing out that schools have the necessary network and database, PHF urged the government to work with public schools, parent-teacher associations, and other relevant bodies to create a self-pickup or delivery mechanism to restart the RMT.
“Most importantly, hunger does not stop when schools close. What we really need now, is for the schools to turn these plans into actions and start delivering the food to those in need.
PHF said the programme had helped to alleviate some of the malnutrition effects brought about by poverty, and immediate actions are needed to resume schoolchildren’s access to nutritious meals.
“As more people fall below the poverty line due to both the pandemic itself and economic downturn caused by the lockdowns, more schoolchildren are suffering from hunger and starvation.
“Restarting the RMT is a step towards addressing their nutritional needs, protecting them from malnutrition and increased susceptibility to Covid-19 infection, or to any other health issues in the future,” the group added. - Mkini
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