Jakarta – Efforts to strengthen clean, transparent, and professional governance in the operation of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) continue as part of the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program. This national strategic program requires an accountable management system considering the very large scale of beneficiaries across Indonesia.
Vice Executive Director of the Indonesia Food Security Review (IFSR), Alfatehan Septianta, stated that the MBG program has a very broad scope and therefore requires transparent, accountable, and professional governance in order to maintain public trust.
“The Free Nutritious Meals program has a very large scale, so it requires transparent, accountable, and professional governance to maintain public trust,” said Alfatehan.
According to him, the implementation of good governance principles is a key factor in ensuring that the program can run effectively and provide optimal benefits to the community. He explained that Indonesia has now become the country with the second-largest number of beneficiaries in the world for school meal programs.
Alfatehan noted that the number of MBG beneficiaries has currently reached around 64 million people per day. This figure is still below India’s midday meal program, which reaches approximately 82 million beneficiaries daily.
“If the MBG program is fully implemented at full scale, the number of beneficiaries in Indonesia is estimated to reach around 80 million people every day,” he said.
To support the implementation of the program, the government through the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) continues to strengthen the operation of SPPG kitchens, which serve as the frontline of the program’s implementation in the field. So far, around 24,000 SPPG kitchens have been operating, representing about 70 percent of the government’s target of 30,000 kitchens.
BGN, Alfatehan continued, has implemented various operational standards through technical guidelines for the MBG program. SPPG kitchens are also required to comply with several certifications and food safety standards, such as halal certification and the Hygiene and Sanitation Eligibility Certificate (SLHS), and are planned to adopt the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standard.
According to Alfatehan, the MBG program, which has been running for about one year, is still undergoing evaluation and governance improvements. BGN is also collaborating with both public and private universities to help formulate a better management system.
In addition, the implementation of the program applies a reward and punishment approach, providing appreciation to kitchens that operate well while imposing sanctions on those who violate established standards.
On the other hand, the MBG program not only focuses on improving the nutritional quality of school children but also generates broad economic impacts for the community.
“Most of the program’s budget is used to purchase food supplies from local producers and to create jobs in kitchen operations, thereby helping stimulate the local economy,” Alfatehan concluded. (*)