Explaining the Urgency of MBG: Head of BGN: 60 Percent of Children Lack Access to Balanced Nutrition

JAKARTA - The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has stressed that around 60 percent of Indonesian children still need interventions for balanced nutrition. This condition forms the basis for the importance of implementing the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme as a human resource development strategy. “Perhaps for those who are highly educated, which is actually only 10 percent of Indonesia’s urban population, food feels like something very ordinary to them,” Dadan stated in his remarks on Thursday (19/3/2026). According to Dadan, the urgency of the programme is inseparable from Indonesia’s continuously increasing population growth each year. Currently, he said, the population increases by about six people per minute, or reaches three million per year, and is projected to touch 324 million souls by 2045. This situation is seen as a particular challenge, especially because most Indonesian children are born to families with an average parental education level of nine years. This impacts the limited understanding and access to fulfilling balanced nutrition. Furthermore, Dadan revealed that the implementation of the MBG programme is starting to show significant achievements. To date, around 61 million children have received benefits from the programme. “We are still continuing to pursue the remaining 30 percent,” he said. Dadan emphasised that the MBG programme is not merely a short-term intervention, but part of a long-term investment to improve the quality of Indonesia’s human resources. “We see that with the continuation of the Free Nutritious Meals Programme, in addition to intervening in children’s right to balanced nutrition, we have started to be able to provide it,” he said.