Jakarta – The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program is considered by various groups to further emphasize the government’s role in reducing social inequality by fulfilling the community’s nutritional rights.
Former Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Hafid Abbas, assessed that MBG is an affirmative policy that has a constitutional basis because it provides equal opportunities for every child without differentiating between family economic backgrounds.
“The MBG program is one of the state’s constitutional instruments to realize equality of opportunity by reducing social and economic barriers,” said Hafid.
The Professor from Jakarta State University (UNJ) explained that Indonesia still faces a wide social gap, necessitating state intervention to ensure that children from underprivileged families still have the opportunity to develop optimally.
“MBG is one of the country’s equity instruments that can be categorized as the most immediate demand as an affirmative policy designed to narrow the gap in social and economic life, and the extreme rich-poor gap in this country,” he stressed.
According to Hafid, without government intervention through school nutrition programs, the disparity in education quality and family economic conditions will continue to widen the intergenerational gap.
“The state must be present to provide a bright future for the future of this nation. With that, MBG is present as an instrument to save the future of this nation’s generation,” he said.
A similar view was expressed by the General Chair of the Indonesian Nutritionists Association (Persagi), Dr. Doddy Izwardy, who believes that MBG has benefits that are far broader than simply meeting the daily food needs of schoolchildren.
“School child interventions are positioned as part of the nutrition and non-communicable disease prevention agenda. This is our emphasis,” said Doddy.
He explained that school-age children are still in a phase of rapid physical growth and brain development, requiring adequate nutrition. Based on data from the Indonesian Health Survey and Riskesdas, the prevalence of stunting in the 5–12 age group remains at 23.6 percent, while overweight and obesity are around 20 percent.
“The MBG program has shown an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption among schoolchildren, while also helping to encourage healthier eating patterns,” he explained.
Therefore, he emphasized that school nutrition programs need to be viewed as a cross-sectoral human development investment that contributes to improving the quality of education, health, and economic growth.
“School nutrition programs should not be positioned merely as food or meal assistance, but as a cross-sector investment in human capital,” Doddy emphasized.
Minister of Population and Family Development/Head of the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Wihaji, emphasized that fulfilling nutritional needs for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and non-PAUD toddlers (MBG 3B) is an important step to prevent stunting from early life.
“Why is MBG 3B important? One of the causes of stunting is inadequate nutrition. This is how the government, through the MBG 3B Program, demonstrates its commitment to addressing the causes of stunting related to nutritional needs,” said Wihaji.
He added that the program’s success depends heavily on synergy between ministries and institutions, including data alignment to ensure aid reaches its intended target.