The Ministry of Home Affairs is finalising a circular letter to serve\nas technical guidance for regional heads in implementing the Free\nNutritious Meal (MBG) programme. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima\nArya Sugiarto said the circular aims to prevent overlapping authority\nbetween ministries and agencies whilst encouraging cross-organisational\ninvolvement of regional apparatus.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that other agencies or regional apparatus organisations can also\nbe involved. Not only the Health Office, but also food security\nagencies, and coordination with the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency\n(BPOM),\u201d he said, as quoted in a Ministry of Home Affairs press release\non Friday, 20 February 2026.<\/p>\n
The circular will, among other things, regulate the strengthening of\nthe Hygiene Sanitation Feasibility System (SLHS), aligned with\nGovernment Regulation (PP) No.\u00a01 of 2026 on Food Safety. \u201cThe circular\nfrom the Minister of Home Affairs will focus firstly on a more detailed\nSLHS, and secondly on strengthening the supply chain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Bima explained, is encouraging the\ninvolvement of relevant regional apparatus organisations, the private\nsector, communities, and Merah Putih Village\/Sub-district Cooperatives\nto ensure the quality, quantity, and continuity of food supplies for the\nMBG programme.<\/p>\n
Bima outlined 17 roles for regional governments in supporting MBG,\nincluding ecosystem strengthening, food safety, beneficiary data\ncollection, and health education and monitoring. These are in accordance\nwith Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No.\u00a0115 of 2025 on the Governance\nof the MBG Programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cMBG is designed not only to focus on health, but also on economic\nempowerment and education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On the health aspect, Bima emphasised the importance of routine\nmonitoring of children\u2019s nutritional status. He urged that technical\nmonitoring mechanisms be synergised with stakeholders so that\nevaluations can be conducted periodically.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to think about the technical mechanisms \u2014 whether through\nthe National Nutrition Agency (BGN), the health offices, or integrated\ninto the free health check-ups. So every three months we can monitor our\nchildren,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the Ministry of Home Affairs is ensuring that planning\nand budgeting support through regional revenue and expenditure budgets\n(APBD) is aligned with MBG targets. This has been accommodated through\nthe regulation of sub-activity nomenclature and account codes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ensuring everything is synchronised between the MBG\ngovernance targets and the APBD planning cycle, its nomenclature,\naccount codes, and so forth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bima made these remarks at a coordination meeting in Surabaya on\nThursday, 19 February 2026. The meeting was also attended by\nCoordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan, Head of the National\nNutrition Agency Dadan Hindayana, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin,\nMinister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu\u2019ti, East Java\nGovernor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and the East Java Regional Leadership\nCoordination Forum (Forkopimda).<\/p>\n
On Friday, 13 February 2026, President Prabowo Subianto said the MBG\nprogramme in its first year had reached 60 million beneficiaries across\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The Gerindra Party chairman said the number of MBG beneficiaries was\nequivalent to feeding the entire population of South Africa every day.\n\u201cOr the equivalent of 10 times Singapore, or twice Malaysia,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Prabowo said he would continue to implement the programme, expressing\nconfidence that the government was on the right path. \u201cWe want to save\nchildren and they say we\u2019re being insulting,\u201d Prabowo said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ministry-of-home-affairs-prepares-technical-guidelines-for-regional-heads-on-free-nutritious-meal-programme-1771685558", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }