Nearly 27% of GISBH children rescued in Selangor have stunted growth

PETALING JAYA: Nearly 27% of the 266 children rescued from GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH) charity homes in Selangor were found to have stunted growth.

Menteri besar Amirudin Shari said this was the result of intensive screening and examination carried out by the Selangor state health department from Nov 4 to 8.

He said 6.8% of the children had serious stunted growth problems, Bernama reported.

After two months at social welfare department care centres, 38.6% had gained weight.

As for the mental health screening, 78 children were found to be suffering from depression, most of them at a ‘mild’ level, while 89 children had anxiety problems. About 22% of six-year-old children were found to have speech problems.

Those needing further intervention have been referred to counsellors, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, Amirudin said at the presentation of a RM100,000 donation to the Selangor GISBH child rehabilitation task force at a function in Shah Alam today.

The Selangor Islamic religious council and the Selangor Islamic religious department studied the religious practices of 176 children, aged between four and 17, and found most of them did not face serious problems.

“The results of the questionnaire also found that only 15% had critical problems with Islamic practices,” he said.

Amirudin said the children had acquired a good level of Malay and Mathematics but had problem mastering English.

Eight were categorised as students with special needs.

Amirudin expected the children rescued from GISBH charity homes to recover fully within a year.