BGN ensures Free Nutritious Meals budget does not reduce other ministries' allocations

Jakarta (ANTARA) — The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has assured the public that concerns regarding the budget allocation for the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG) potentially disrupting budgets of other ministries are unfounded.

BGN Head Dadan Hindayana explained that for the groups comprising pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children, the budget allocation is included within the health function output breakdown.

“There is a BGN budget of Rp24 trillion allocated within the health function, but it does not interfere with the Health Ministry’s (Kemenkes) budget, as evidenced by the fact that the Health Ministry’s budget increases year-on-year, even with Rp24 trillion allocated for this year’s 2026 health function carried out by BGN,” he said in an official statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

Dadan explained that similarly, for education allocations, BGN ensures that it does not reduce the budget allocations for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) or the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek).

Furthermore, Dadan also assured that central-to-regional transfers for teacher allowances continue to increase, rising by nearly 10 per cent compared to the previous year.

“Moreover, it does not interfere with central-to-regional transfers for teacher allowances, as these have increased 10 per cent from last year to this year,” said Dadan Hindayana.