Academics Urge Repositioning of MBG Project to Ensure It Hits the Mark
The Dean of Professors at the University of Indonesia (UI), Teddy Prasetyono, has urged the government to reposition the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme to make it more targeted. According to him, the most ideal nutrition should be provided during the first 1,000 Days of Life (HPK) period.
“Attention to nutrition should start from inside the womb. So, during pregnancy,” he said while reading out recommendations in the Health sector from the Interdisciplinary Intellectual Forum (FIAD) at the UI campus in Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Monday, 13 April 2026.
This view resulted from a focused group discussion (FGD) themed “Interdisciplinary Intellectuals Speak about Indonesia Today”. The forum addressed various issues through seven discussion groups, including the health sector attended by several academics.
Teddy stressed the importance of nutrition in child growth. According to him, proper nutritional fulfilment influences children’s future cognitive development. He explained that ideal nutrition fulfilment should begin from the pregnancy period up to the 1,000 HPK period.
This effort aims to prevent stunting and support the physical growth and brain development of the foetus. “Nevertheless, nutritional provision can still be given until the child is nine years old,” he stated.
According to him, there are many impacts from proper nutrition provision. For example, abilities in education, school learning, and facing future life.
Therefore, Teddy emphasised that nutritional provision in MBG is crucial. He also assessed that the temporary suspension of the MBG programme aligns with efforts to reposition it for better targeting. “The suspension aims to change the MBG target to the correct one,” he said.
Hundreds of academics from universities and activists previously gathered to discuss national issues at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Monday, 13 April 2026. Teddy said the purpose of the event was to build new ideas.
The event was organised by FIAD in the format of an FGD themed “Interdisciplinary Intellectuals Speak about Indonesia Today”. FIAD invited several academics from various State and Private Universities. It also invited activists from various backgrounds.
Based on the invitation list, some of the academics present included Professor from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Indonesia Tjandra Yoga Aditama, academic from Driyarkara School of Philosophy Agustinus Setyo Wibowo, lecturer at Jakarta State University (UNJ) Ubedilah Badrun, Professor of Constitutional Law at Padjadjaran University Susi Dwi Harijanti, lecturer in Constitutional Law at Andalas University (Unand) Feri Amsari, and Professor at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Zainal Arifin Mochtar. There were also several activists such as lawyer from LBH Jakarta Daniel Winarta, Chairman of YLBHI Muhammad Isnur, and former Attorney General Marzuki Darusman.
They discussed national issues. Some of the issues discussed included the economy, food, health, energy and natural resources, law, social, cultural, and higher education. These issues were discussed in the format of seven discussion groups.