Free Nutritious Meals Becomes the Government’s Concrete Step to Improve Superior Human Resources

Jakarta – The government of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has launched the Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG) as a strategic step to improve superior Human Resources (HR).

Related to this, Member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives Surya Utama conveyed the MBG program policy which is an initiative of President Prabowo in improving the quality of Indonesian human resources towards Indonesia Emas 2045.

“The President’s vision is known as Asta Cita. One of the implementations of Asta Cita is the Free Nutritious Meals Program (MBG), which began on January 6, 2025,” said Surya Utama.

The MBG program is aimed at four main target groups. In the field of education, this program targets students from early childhood education to secondary education.

In addition, Surya Utama also explained about sectors outside of education that will still receive this MBG program which is intended for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers.

“Good nutritional fulfillment is the core of this vision because optimal nutrition from an early age has a direct impact on children’s ability to learn, achieve, and contribute to society,” explained Surya Utama.

To achieve this target, Indonesia needs superior human resources, globally competitive, and able to become the driving force of economic growth, strengthen national resilience, and make Indonesia an important player on the global stage.

In the same vein, the Head of the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), Taruna Ikrar, also showed BPOM’s strong commitment to supporting the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) initiated by President Prabowo Subianto.

Taruna Ikrar emphasized BPOM’s full support for the MBG Program. According to him, this program not only aims to improve the quality of community nutrition, but also becomes a strategic step in preventing stunting which is still a major challenge in Indonesia.

“Food and nutritional quality are the main keys in creating superior human resources. The Free Nutritious Meal Program is in line with the vision of Indonesia 2045, which targets the creation of a golden generation to make Indonesia a developed country,” said Taruna.

Taruna also highlighted the major challenge that must be overcome, namely stunting, which has a significant impact on children’s physical growth and cognitive development.

“This program is an important pillar in creating a healthy, productive, and competitive generation in the future,” said Taruna.

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