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Families On The Edge, Penang
The Families on the Edge project was commissioned by UNICEF Malaysia and the Penang State Government and aims to evaluate how social welfare services have influenced the lives of those they serve, particularly women and children in low-income households in Penang. This assessment was conducted to provide informed policy recommendations. The project tracked the socio-economic status, welfare and overall well-being of beneficiary households. Additionally, it compared their current conditions to pre-pandemic standards, shedding light on the changes in living standards throughout the pandemic and postlockdown periods. A primary focus of the assessment involved examining how relevant, adequate, accessible and impactful the assistance provided by both the Penang State Government and the federal government was. The research team conducted surveys among 433 low-income households across all five districts in Penang through two survey rounds. The first survey round took place from April to August 2022 while the second round was conducted from February to May 2023. The project also gathered insights through interviews and focus group discussions with recipients and providers of aid from March to July 2022 and from July to November 2023, in tandem with the respective survey rounds. Based on our findings, four main issues were identified, namely, inadequate resources, health concerns, childcare burden and education gaps.