A groundbreaking initiative to combat malnutrition and promote healthy eating among Indonesia’s underserved communities was launched on January 6, 2025.
The Nutritious Meals Program or Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG), the top of the President Prabowo Subianto’s Program Hasil Terbaik Cepat or eight priorities, spearheaded by Badan Gizi Nasional (BGN) or the National Nutrition Agency, aims to provide free, nutritious meals to millions of Indonesian children.
“For the first time in the history of independent Indonesia, a universal government-subsidized program, will provide millions of our students with rich nutritious meals, processed with high standards of hygiene, ready to be served to children in schools across the largest archipelagic nation in the world,” said Philips J. Vermonte, the Presidential Communication Office Spokesperson.
The Indonesian education system is the fourth largest in the world with more than 60 million students, studying in more than 400,000 schools.
The program has received strong endorsements from United Nations agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These global organizations have hailed the Nutritious Meals Program as a pivotal step towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 2 on Zero Hunger and Goal 3 on Good Health and Well-being.
“A Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen has emphasized the importance of investing in human development, including nutrition, stating that economic growth without investment in human development is unsustainable. This highlights the significant returns on investment that can be achieved through improving nutrition and overall human development,” Philips explained.
According to UNICEF, every dollar invested in nutrition can yield up to $16 in economic returns. This high return is due to the numerous benefits of good nutrition, including improved health, better educational outcomes, and increased productivity.
Meanwhile, the World Bank, said every dollar invested in nutrition can generate economic returns ranging from $4 to $35.
Phillips said that Key Features of the Program include high-quality, balanced meals prepared with locally sourced ingredients to ensure freshness and central kitchens, locally dubbed as Satuan Pemenuhan Pelayanan Gizi (Nutrition Services Provision Center).
In addition to that intervention, Philips said, nutritional education, meal planning, and healthy eating habits for participating communities. Lastly, partnerships with local stakeholders to manage food waste, in collaboration with the local environment protection office and sustainable agricultural sources, empowering local farmers.
“This bold initiative also gained support from the international community, partners, and experts, such as the School Meals Coalition and Milan Urban Food Program. The world is behind us on this one,” Philips said, referring to the endorsement Indonesia received from G20 and APEC leaders during President Prabowo Subianto’s foreign mission last October. The School Meals Coalition drives actions to urgently improve and scale up school meal programs to ensure that every child can receive a healthy, nutritious meal in school by 2030. The coalition set three objectives of reaching the 73 million most vulnerable children who were not reached even prior to the pandemic by 2030 and improve the quality and efficiency of school health and nutrition programs globally by 2030.
“Indonesia aims to serve nutritious meals to 80 million children. This will greatly contribute to the world’s target of serving meals at schools to all children by the end of SDGs,” he continued.
Phillips added that the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) recognizes the transformative potential of school meal programs in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries. According to the MUFPP, effective school meal programs can significantly improve children’s nutritional status and enhance school participation.
“Even promote social inclusion because this is a universal program,” said Phillips, who said the Municipality of Milan via Milan Urban Food Policy Pact already closely observed the preparation of the nutritious meals program in Indonesia. Milan City has initiated such a program since 1900 and now has served 15,000,000 meals per year or 83,000 meals per day. “This is not an impossible mission. The first gigantic step towards Golden Indonesia 2045, when we earn our rightful place as one of the world’s 10 largest economies, most stable democracy, and a global South leader,” Philips said.
