Supporting Budget Savings to Fund the MBG Program

Jakarta – The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, recently announced a major breakthrough in the implementation of the State Budget (APBN) with budget savings of IDR 750 trillion.

These savings will be allocated to fund a number of priority government programs, one of which is the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program, which aims to improve the nutritional quality of Indonesian children.

According to President Prabowo, the savings of US$ 24 billion or around IDR 375 trillion will be used to reduce hunger and malnutrition among children, especially those from underprivileged families.

“We want to ensure that no Indonesian child has to endure hunger or malnutrition. Free nutritious meals are their right, and we are committed to providing that through this policy,” said President Prabowo.

Deputy Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara added that the budget efficiency announced by President Prabowo will focus on the MBG program.

“The budget allocated for MBG will be very large, and this will be one of the main priorities in this year’s State Budget. With this step, the government wants to ensure that Indonesian children have access to healthy and nutritious food, which is very important for their growth and development,” explained Suahasil.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Hashim Djojohadikusumo, expressed his support for President Prabowo’s decision to increase the budget for the MBG program.

“The MBG program has received an additional budget of IDR 100 trillion, which comes from budget efficiency carried out by the government. With a total budget of IDR 171 trillion, we are sure that this program will have a significant positive impact, not only for children, but also for the Indonesian economy as a whole,” said Hashim.

Hashim added that the allocation of this appropriate and efficient budget is estimated to be able to drive national economic growth by 0.83 percent.

“Providing free nutritious meals is not only beneficial for improving the quality of life of children, but will also have a positive impact on future workforce productivity. This is a long-term investment for the Indonesian nation,” he continued.

The MBG program itself is a government initiative to provide healthy food for school children, especially in underprivileged areas.

Through this policy, the government hopes to overcome the problem of malnutrition which has been a major challenge in realizing superior and competitive human resources.