While public housing in Malaysia aims to keep low-income communities out of slums, we’ve seen that it is not enough to merely provide a roof over their heads. The numbers of urban poor are rising, and they’re struggling to achieve basic quality of life. According to a 2022 report by Think City, half of the public housing population in Malaysia do not have enough money to buy food, and children are growing up with significant rates of malnutrition, including being underweight, overweight and stunted. Hana Zulkifli, Senior Manager, Environment & Social, from Think City, joins us to look at how public housing transformation can improve public health outcomes, while Cindy Chew, Head of Community Development from Thrive Well, shares about Kelip, a programme to train and empower community members in PPR flats.

Image Credit: Thrive Well