Free Nutritious Meal Program Creates a Healthy and Productive Young Generation
By: Dirandra Falguni
The Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) initiated by President Prabowo Subianto is one of the government’s leading policies in building healthy and productive Indonesian human resources (HR). This program is not just about providing nutritious food for children and pregnant women, but also a major strategy in creating a golden generation that is ready to compete at the global level.
President Prabowo emphasized the importance of this program at the 2025 World Government Summit, that MBG is a major investment for the future of the nation. With a coverage of 330,000 schools throughout Indonesia, the government is targeting more than 85 million children and pregnant women to benefit from this program. President Prabowo said that when implemented in hundreds of thousands of schools, from remote villages to dynamic city centers, this is a significant investment for the future of the nation.
Through this program, the government wants to ensure that Indonesian children get sufficient nutritional intake from an early age, so that they can grow optimally, both physically and mentally. This is because adequate nutrition in childhood has a major impact on intelligence, productivity, and individual competitiveness in the future.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Wamendiktisaintek), Fauzan emphasized that this program must involve universities in the study and governance so that its implementation runs optimally. The success of the MBG program does not only depend on the central government, but also requires participation from various elements, including the world of education and related institutions.
According to Fauzan, all higher education institutions are expected to collaborate to welcome Indonesia Emas 2045 in this MBG program. Universities have an important role in overseeing this program, both in the form of studies and governance qualitatively and quantitatively.
The MBG program proposed by President Prabowo can be a positive step in improving the welfare of the community, especially for the underprivileged. Access to nutritious food contributes to improving the quality of life and productivity, especially for children. This program also has the potential to reduce the nutritional gap which is still a challenge domestically.
Meanwhile, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Prof. Dadan Hindayana stated that MBG is the largest human resource investment in Indonesian history. According to him, this program is a concrete step to realize the Golden Generation of 2045, where Indonesia is expected to become one of the world’s economic powers with superior and highly competitive human resources.
He is confident that with the solidarity of all Cabinet Ministers, including the TNI, Polri, and BIN, this program will be successful and become a great legacy for the nation. By the end of 2025, the government is targeting 80 million school children to benefit from this program. However, its acceleration and effectiveness will greatly depend on the involvement of various ministries and support from all elements of society.
Support for MBG comes from various parties, including community organizations. One of the supports came from the Muhammadiyah Youth of North Maluku, who expressed their commitment to help oversee the success of this program.
The Head of the Muhammadiyah Youth of North Maluku, Muhammad Fadly stated that this program is in line with Muhammadiyah’s vision in improving the welfare and health of the community. The Muhammadiyah Youth of North Maluku fully supports the Free Nutritious Meal program initiated by President Prabowo. This is a strategic step in building a healthier and better quality future.
In addition to providing moral support, Pemuda Muhammadiyah is also ready to assist in the supervision and implementation of the program, so that its benefits can be felt by the wider community, including in remote areas of North Maluku. Support from various organizations such as Pemuda Muhammadiyah shows that the success of MBG is not only the government’s responsibility, but also requires close collaboration with the community and the business world.
As part of the initial implementation, the government has started a trial of the MBG program in Bengkayang Regency, West Kalimantan, since February 17, 2025. The Assistant for Government and Social Welfare of the Bengkayang Regency Government, Yohanes Atet, said that this trial was carried out in five schools with a total of 1,289 students as the first stage target.
The Bengkayang Regency Government also collaborates with the Health Office, Education Office, TNI, Polri, and various other parties to ensure that the distribution of nutritious food runs smoothly. The Head of the Bengkayang Regency Education and Culture Office, Heru Pujiono, added that his party had collected data on students who had special conditions, such as food allergies, lactose intolerance, or other specific nutritional needs.
