BGN: Free Nutritious Meal Budget Does Not Impact Health and Education Allocations

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has stated that budget allocations for the free nutritious meal programme (MBG) do not reduce funding for other government sectors. This clarification was issued following public concerns that the priority programme could potentially consume budgets from the health and education sectors.

BGN head Dadan Hindayana stated that for the target groups of pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children, MBG budget allocation is recorded within the health function output breakdown. In 2026, BGN has secured 24 trillion rupiah within this function.

“The BGN budget of 24 trillion rupiah is allocated within the health function, but it does not affect the Health Ministry’s budget,” said Dadan at a press conference in Bogor on Saturday, 28 February 2026.

According to him, this claim is reflected in the consistent year-on-year increase in the Health Ministry’s budget, including in 2026, despite the additional health function implemented by BGN.

A similar arrangement applies to the education sector. For school-age children, Islamic boarding school students, and religious schools, Dadan stated that MBG budget is allocated within the education function.

Dadan noted that the total education function budget reaches 223 trillion rupiah without reducing allocations for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education or the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

“It does not impact other budgets because the education ministry budget has also increased compared to the previous year,” he said.

BGN also confirmed that central government transfers to regional authorities for teacher allowances continue to increase. “From last year to this year, it increased by almost 10 per cent,” said Dadan.