Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — The Head of Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has reported the 10 days of implementation progress of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to President Prabowo Subianto.
Since its launch on January 6, 2025, the Free Nutritious Meal initiative has reached more than 650,000 beneficiaries across 31 provinces through 234 Nutrition Service Units (SPPG). Dadan provided the update during an evaluation meeting with President Prabowo and several ministers at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday, January 17.
“The program has been running for nearly 10 days. Activities are underway in 31 provinces, with 234 service units providing meals to over 650,000 beneficiaries. This number continues to grow daily,” Dadan said, as reported by CNBC Indonesia.
The Free Nutritious Meal program aims to expand its reach significantly in the coming months. By April 2025, the target is to reach 3 million beneficiaries, with projections reaching 6 million by August 2025. He emphasized that the program is designed to address the nutritional needs of diverse groups, including schoolchildren and pregnant women.
Program Accelerations and Challanges
Dadan noted that President Prabowo Subianto has called for an acceleration of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program. The president expressed concern after hearing reports of children asking their parents when they get the meals.
“One thing that drives the president to push for faster implementation is his deep concern for children still waiting to receive nutritious meals. Many parents have reported their children saying, ‘Mom, why haven’t I received food from Mr. Prabowo, while my friends already have?’” Dadan explained.
However, Dadan acknowledged that inter-agency coordination and regulatory streamlining remain critical challenges to ensuring the program’s success. This program involves multiple stakeholders, including the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Villages, and the TNI-Polri.
“The main point from today’s meeting is that all parties, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, have agreed to support regulations that will streamline and accelerate the implementation of this program,” Dadan explained, as reported by CNN Indonesia.
Emphasizing that cross-sector collaboration is critical to overcoming challenges the program continues to face, particularly in reaching underserved communities.
Read also : 50 Students Suffer Food Poisoning After Consuming Indonesia Free Nutritious Meal Program
Additional Budgetary Needs
Furthermore, Dadan also states the budget needed to achieve the Free Nutritious Meal program target. BGN estimates that reaching the program’s ultimate goal of serving 82.9 million people will require an additional Rp100 trillion ($6.6 billion).
With the current budget of Rp 71 trillion ($4.7 billion), BGN estimates that the number is only sufficient to cover 15–17.5 million beneficiaries.
The government acknowledges the challenges ahead but remains committed to ensuring the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program fulfills its mission to improve the nutrition and well-being of Indonesian citizens.
(Raidi/Agung)
