Jakarta, – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has officially announced significant changes in the funding scheme for the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) as an effort to increase transparency and accountability in the use of the state budget.
Starting in February 2025, BGN will eliminate the reimbursement scheme that was previously used and replace it with a direct transfer system to the accounts of program implementing partners.
This step was taken in response to a number of inputs from stakeholders and as an anticipation of potential budget misuse that could occur in the cost reimbursement process. With this new system, program partners no longer need to bear the burden of initial financing before being reimbursed by the government, but instead directly receive funds according to the operational needs that have been approved.
The Head of BGN, Dadan Hindayana, said that this policy is part of an effort to strengthen the governance of the MBG program, as well as encourage efficiency in the implementation of the distribution of nutritious food in various regions.
“With the direct transfer system, we want to ensure that funds are distributed faster, on target, and without unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles,” he said.
The MBG program itself is targeted to reach 82.9 million beneficiaries by the end of 2025. To achieve this target, BGN projects an additional budget requirement of around IDR 25 trillion per month, if the program is accelerated in September. This means that by the end of the year, the total additional budget needed could reach IDR 100 trillion.
However, Dadan emphasized that efficiency continues to be carried out in various lines. “One of them is by cutting the budget by IDR 200.2 billion from the land acquisition sector for the construction of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG),” he explained.
Previously, the Chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, said that MBG had a major impact on the Indonesian economy.
“This program plays an important role in creating jobs and reducing poverty, therefore the continuation of this program is very important for the community,” he said.
Meanwhile, in changing the funding scheme, BGN also continues to collaborate across sectors, including with local governments and BUMN, to ensure the continuity and smoothness of the MBG program. The synergy is believed to be the main force in ensuring that every rupiah allocated truly reaches the community and has a real impact on improving the quality of national nutrition.
BGN is optimistic that with improved governance and support from all parties, the Free Nutritious Meal Program can run more effectively, efficiently, and answer the nutritional needs of the Indonesian people as a whole.
