President Prabowo Affirms Commitment to Realizing Equitable Nutrition for 82 Million Indonesians
JAKARTA-Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto emphasized his commitment to realizing the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program for 82 million Indonesians within one year.
The Head of State stated that this program model has been successfully implemented in a number of countries.
“When people consume nutritious food, poverty levels will decrease because money circulates in the village. This is not a new concept. Brazil has implemented a similar program for 11 years, as has India,” Prabowo said.
He emphasized that MBG is not just about fulfilling nutrition, but also an effort to create economic equality. According to him, when funds flow to farmers, ranchers, and local kitchens, the village economy also grows.
In its implementation, the President emphasized the importance of layered supervision from various parties, including school principals and regional officials.
“Supervision is crucial. We train managers and principals to report immediately if the food served does not meet standards. I can tell if something is wrong,” he said.
The President acknowledged technical challenges such as the use of used oil and eggs mixed with flour that have the potential to reduce nutritional quality.
However, he remains optimistic, and gave the example of the distribution of nutritious food for pregnant women to remote areas through family planning counselors from the BKKBN as proof of the seriousness of the program.
“I am proud because we are able to distribute nutritious food for pregnant women to remote areas, including the outermost islands and mountainous areas. Perhaps no other country has done something like this,” Prabowo said.
On the other hand, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana stated that starting November 2025, this program is targeted to absorb a budget of IDR 1 trillion per day through 32,000 service points.
“In November 2025, we are targeting 32 thousand active service points, with a budget allocation of IDR 25 trillion each month,” he explained.
He added that the implementation was carried out in stages, with 7,000 service points active in August and 82.9 million recipients in November. Since January, the program has been running in 26 provinces and continues to grow to almost 2,000 service points by May 2025.
Dadan said the success of this program depends on three main pillars, namely budget, human resources, and infrastructure.
“The president is also willing to increase the budget to Rp100 trillion,” he said.
He added that all MBG services are implemented without using state funds, but through full cooperation with MSME actors.
“This program is not only about fulfilling nutrition, but also opening the way for economic growth,” he concluded.
