Celios Study: MBG Fails to Reach the Most Needy Citizens
Results from a study by the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) indicate that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme is expensive and fails to reach the citizens who need it most. This conclusion is based on an analysis of poverty percentages and the number of Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) that prepare and distribute meals to recipients.
“Regions with high percentages of poor residents have fewer MBG kitchens,” said Celios researcher Isnawati Hidayah, quoted from the Celios Memo on Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
In its analysis, the number of MBG kitchens is also decreasing in frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped areas, known as 3T regions. Yet, these areas have many poor, remote residents who are not prioritised.
According to Isnawati, this shows that the MBG programme fails to target its intended beneficiaries because meal distribution does not follow the needs of those requiring it. As a result, the flagship programme of President Prabowo Subianto, with a Rp 335 trillion budget in 2026, is increasingly questioned for its effectiveness.
The programme has not been significantly affected by efficiency measures amid the state budget (APBN) deficit, nor by pressures from inflation, potential Super El Niño and El Niño, or prolonged drought in the agricultural sector affecting communities.
The 2025 Celios study shows a 34.2% inclusion error in the MBG programme. This means many recipients of the MBG programme are not the people who need it most.
Isnawati said the situation is worsened by budget allocations for irrelevant items, such as event organisers, procurement of tablets, socks, electric motorbikes, and others. “Instead of improving children’s nutrition, MBG reflects mis-targeting and failure in public budget governance,” she stated.
Celios recommends halting the expansion of SPPG and conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the design, distribution, and implementation of MBG. A universal approach has not proven effective because the most vulnerable regions are not optimally reached.
The programme also needs a thorough and independent audit of SPPG distribution, procurement of goods and services, and potential budget inflation as a form of accountability.
Procurement of goods and services such as event organisers, merchandise, and the like needs to be evaluated because they are not related to fulfilling children’s nutrition. Furthermore, a real-time public monitoring system is needed so that distribution and budget use can be supervised.
“Use outcome indicators (nutritional status, stunting reduction) rather than just output (number of SPPG) in programme evaluation,” Isnawati advised.