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KUALA LUMPUR: Deeply rooted in Malaysia’s culture, night markets are teeming with life during Ramadan, when both Muslims and non-Muslims flock to these bustling venues to be greeted with culinary surprises that keep up with the latest food trends.

Over the years, the idea of bazaars during Ramadan has become prominent, with the capital’s biggest night markets — such as the one in Wangsa Maju area — featuring a long line of food stalls that stretch for hundreds of meters.

“We have been selling kuih muih and nasi lemak for many years now — the recipe is my grandmother’s,” Siti Amirah Hassan, who runs a stall at the Sri Sinar Bazaar in Kuala Lumpur’s Segambut district, told Arab News.

Kuih muih is a broad assortment of traditional bite-sized snacks, with the main ingredients being grated coconut, pandan leaves and palm sugar.

Hassan, a third-generation cook in her family, said that adapting to the customers’ changing preferences has meant transforming her family’s recipes to fit new trends, including adding fried lobsters to nasi lemak, which is traditionally served with fried chicken.

“Now we cannot get by just by selling the traditional nasi lemak or the Malay kuih muih … we have to keep doing new things. If I don’t do it, someone else will, then we lose the business,” she said.

As the bazaars have grown in both size and diversity over the years, they now showcase not only Malaysia’s rich food landscape, but also contemporary and viral food, artisanal products and modern takes on traditional dishes.

But the changes have also created opportunities for sellers like Arif Abdul Rahman, whose stall in Wangsa Maju offers molten chocolate and red velvet cakes.

“Ramadan bazaars changed a lot already; last time only the traditional things will sell,” he told Arab News.

“Malaysian mentality is very different now. Everyone is OK; they are open to trying new things,” he said. “Through this, we get an opportunity to build our business and establish it in our community.”

For Arif and his peers, Ramadan bazaars are a great source of income.

More than 65,000 stalls were opened for Ramadan bazaars, according to a 2023 report by Malaysia’s Department of Statistics, generating about 1.9 billion ringgit ($428 million) in total sales.

“Ramadan time (is) very lucrative, almost four times (sales for the) business,” Rahman said. “Hopefully this can continue for a long time.”

Under vibrant-colored canopies, sellers at the bazaars offer a variety of cuisines ranging from traditional Malay meals to Indian fusion dishes, while others have ventured into Western and Arabic fares.

Ramadan bazaars are also found in smaller neighborhoods throughout the capital, as many Malaysians consider them a must-visit during the holy month.

While Muslims would visit the markets as early as 4 p.m. each day to buy meals for iftar, the bazaars are also frequented by non-Muslims in search of good food.

The popularity of these bazaars is likely to continue, as for customers like Nina Fazliana Muhammad, visiting them is a family excursion.

“I have got three kids, all under the age of seven. They are always in a better mood after a walk through our neighborhood bazaar, firstly because of the variety of food, but also the fun of spending all that time together,” she told Arab News.

Some days, a trip to the bazaar also offered the 44-year-old entrepreneur a break from cooking.

“A 30-minute walk through the bazaar and I can have a delicious spread ready for a family break of fast. So, truly, it is a lifesaver.”

For Lee Kok Yong, the bazaars have become a tradition.

“Every year … at least once we will go … at this point it is like a family tradition. And, honestly, it is a very nice experience,” he said.

“It is like a one-stop where we get to not just eat our hearts out, but learn about new food traditions.”

KABUL: Afghan doctors warn that new foreign funding cuts are depriving the country’s most vulnerable of health care, especially in rural areas, where aid-dependent NGOs are the sole providers.

The WHO announced last week that 206 health facilities across 28 provinces of Afghanistan were either suspended or closed due to a lack of financial support.

About 200 more clinics, health centers and mobile health and nutrition teams operating in remote areas of the country are set to close by June.

The UN health agency said that the funding shortfall, which comes amid massive US aid cuts since January, is leaving an additional 1.8 million Afghans without access to primary health care.

“The big hospitals in provincial capitals are primarily run by the government while most of the health centers in rural areas are operated by NGOs with funding from different donors,” Dr. Zobair Saljuqi, a doctor at Herat Regional Hospital, told Arab News.

Most of the rural population cannot afford to travel to provincial capitals or major cities for treatment. Health facilities in remote areas are also crucial for women, especially since their movement has been curtailed by the Taliban administration.

“If these health facilities don’t receive the needed financial aid, they cannot continue functioning even for a month because from staff salaries, through running costs, to medicines — all are provided by the donors,” Saljuqi said.

“Women will face severe challenges during pregnancies and children could die due to malnutrition or infectious diseases.”

The halt in US aid is another blow to Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation since the Taliban took over in 2021. Following the collapse of the country’s Western-backed regime, the US withdrew its troops and froze all projects overnight, after spending billions on two decades of military and development operations.

Afghanistan’s health sector relies on donor funds. UN estimates show that out-of-pocket expenses and external funding make up 97 percent of total health expenditure, while government contributions account for just 3 percent.

Dr. Ahmad Tariq, who works at a health center in Qarghayi district, Laghman province, said that almost everyone in his neighborhood depended on the facility.

“People here are very poor. They are all either farmers or daily laborers. They can’t afford to travel to the center of the province or buy medicine,” he told Arab News.

“Our small facility is helping tens of patients every day, men and women, children and elderly persons. They come for OPD consultations as well as vaccination and receive some medicine for free. If it wasn’t for this center most of the people would have been deprived of basic health services.”

According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health data, 72 percent of the rural population lacks access to primary and secondary health care services.

Of the country’s 400 districts, only 93 have operational hospitals, and almost 10 million people in more than 20,000 villages have limited or no access to basic health services.

Dr. Mohammad Nazar, a public health practitioner in Kabul, forecast that the sudden shortage of US-led funding would further devastate Afghanistan’s already fragile health system, which had endured decades of war and Soviet and American invasions.

“Almost all health centers across rural areas are supported by donors and humanitarian organizations,” he said.

“Tens of health facilities are already closing, which means more and more women, children, elderly persons, displaced persons ... will have no access to essential health services and mortality from preventable diseases would rise.”