Government to seriously evaluate free nutritious meal programme governance, prioritising 3B and 3T

The government is seriously evaluating and improving the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme to ensure it is better targeted, prioritising the 3B group—pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers—as well as 3T regions (underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost).

Head of the Government Communication Body (Bakom) Muhammad Qodari said the focus on the 3B group is being implemented because providing nutrition to this group is considered the most effective way to prevent and reduce stunting rates. “When talking about stunting, the maximum intervention is indeed there,” Qodari stated in a release received in Jakarta on Friday.

Beyond the 3B group, the government will also expand its attention to 3T areas, which have long faced various access and resource limitations. “So, how underdeveloped, outermost, and remote areas, which may have received less attention and have fewer resources, will be prioritised,” he said.

According to Qodari, the MBG programme has provided tangible benefits to the community because it is distributed routinely every day during the school term. Looking ahead, Qodari said the government is optimistic that the various restructuring and refinements being made will further improve the quality of the programme’s implementation, from nutritional aspects to the hygiene of the food received by beneficiaries.

“So, I think many changes will occur in the future. God willing, it will improve the nutritional quality, health quality, and hygiene of the MBG received by our children, by pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers,” he said.

He added that President Prabowo Subianto has also given a mandate to the new leadership of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to restructure and strengthen the governance of the MBG programme. All of these improvement plans are assured of receiving direct attention from the president.

“The president has given a mandate to the new BGN leadership to carry out this restructuring. I believe that what is planned will certainly be reported to the president, and this will definitely be noted by the president,” he stated.

Not only receiving attention from the president, Qodari revealed that the evaluation and development of the programme also involves various parties, including the National Economic Council (DEN). According to him, the BGN has presented a number of planned changes to the DEN to obtain constructive input.

Furthermore, Qodari explained that input from the DEN serves as an important basis in the evaluation process. The DEN has conducted a survey of 800 Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) to capture the conditions of programme implementation in the field. “(The DEN survey) can depict the existing population, and of course, the findings can later serve as input for the new BGN leadership,” Qodari said.