Food poverty

Abstract

Presently, poverty in Malaysia is defined by poverty line income (PU). The Ninth Malaysia Plan recognises food poverty. However the definition for the latter has to be developed based on evidence from studies on people experiencing food poverty; and such studies have to be carried out periodically because characteristics and effects of food poverty changes overtime as society and consumer market offerings change. At the UNOP level, representatives have been, "working with the government to build a new consensus around a poverty line that reflects a greater balance between absolute and relative features." (Renner, 2004). In public health, this is important because regardless of definition and societal changes, it is the food-poor who would experience higher health risks. A study by Marjan et al., (2002) found that childhood stunting and underweight occurred in all income groups: 4.2% of hardcore poor, 9.4% of poor ang 8.4% in the above poverty income group. In order for findings to be generalisable, studies must be designed to answer two fundamental questions: (1) how is "food poverty" to be defined? (2) how is a representative cross-section of food-poor households to be identified?