One Year of the MBG Program Demonstrates the Government’s Commitment to Child Nutrition
Jakarta – The Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) program, a mainstay of President Prabowo Subianto, has a noble goal. The government wants to save the nation’s children from imbalanced nutrition.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin emphasized that the MBG program is not about food distribution, but a long-term health strategy. He stated that the quality of children’s nutrition determines the quality of the nation’s health, including reducing stunting rates and improving maternal and infant health.
“If our children’s nutrition is good, health problems will be reduced by 30% to 50%. Therefore, I am very interested in the success of the MBG program,” explained BGS, Budi Gunadi Sadikin’s nickname.
Supporting this statement, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, ensured that the implementation and development of the MBG program is aimed at saving future generations and creating a quality generation.
He explained that the MBG is expected to address the nutritional needs of Indonesian children, especially the 60% of children from underprivileged and vulnerable families. This group still faces challenges in accessing nutritious, balanced food sources.
“The BPS (Central Statistics Agency) survey yielded data on household members that reflect Indonesia’s demographic structure. Indonesia’s population growth is supported by families with an average education of 9 years. Therefore, it’s not surprising that 60% of our children still don’t have optimal access to a balanced nutritional menu,” he explained.
Dadan explained that these children are spread across densely populated areas such as West Java, Central Java, East Java, and Jakarta.
“That’s our target,” Dadan added.
In its first year, the MBG program has achieved remarkable results. By September 26, 2025, more than 1.1 billion portions of nutritious food had been served to the Indonesian people. This figure is not just a statistic, but concrete evidence of the government’s efforts to strengthen the next generation.
The MBG program targets priority groups in need of nutritional support, including school children, toddlers, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Based on data obtained from BGN, 28 million school children received MBG benefits, 920 thousand toddlers, and 466 thousand pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
