Hashim Djojohadikusumo: Free Nutritious Meal Programme Will Not Stop, It's Prabowo's Campaign Promise

Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Hashim Djojohadikusumo has stressed that the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme for children and pregnant women will not be halted. In his remarks, Hashim emphasised that this is the determination of President Prabowo Subianto. “It is no longer a secret that the government is determined to continue the MBG programme. We will not stop until we succeed. We will provide nutritious food for all children and pregnant women who need it. This is a determination, a campaign promise of Prabowo Subianto. It will not stop, it will be continued,” Hashim said in Jakarta, cited on Saturday, 4 July 2026. Hashim stated that the MBG programme was an idea of President Prabowo’s dating back to around 2006. He said Prabowo aspired to improve the health of Indonesian children suffering from stunting. According to Hashim, this programme was a promise made by Prabowo long before he was elected President. “This is a campaign promise of Prabowo Subianto since 2009, when he was still a vice-presidential candidate, continued in 2014 as a presidential candidate, continued in 2019, and continued in 2024. It is Prabowo Subianto’s campaign promise that all Indonesian children who wish for it will receive free nutritious meals, so that we can tackle the very serious problem of stunting,” he said. However, Hashim did not deny allegations of irregularities in the programme’s implementation. He therefore requested that relevant ministries and agencies, as well as members of Srikandi Jaga Desa, oversee the implementation of the MBG programme. “Programmes with noble objectives, if their implementation is not properly supervised and guided, we have seen the results,” Hashim remarked.