Health Minister Proposes TB Patients as Beneficiaries of Free Nutritious Meals Programme

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has proposed that tuberculosis (TBC) patients become beneficiaries of the free nutritious meals (MBG) programme. According to him, TBC sufferers have weak immune systems, and therefore nutritious food intake would accelerate the recovery process. “From research in international journals and already implemented in India and China, people with TBC are treated for 6 to 12 months. Their physical condition and immunity are weak,” Budi said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday (23/6). “So if they can get sufficient or slightly more nutritional intake, it will strengthen them and speed up their recovery,” he continued. Budi stated that TBC is a deadly disease. Based on data, around 126,000 people die from TBC. He admitted he had already discussed the proposal with the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Nanik S Deyang. “So we talk for 5 minutes and 2 people die from TBC in Indonesia. That is why yesterday I spoke with Ibu Nanik about wanting to improve and focus the distribution of MBG on specific targets. She asked me, and I said, Ma’am, MBG really helps me solve health problems,” he said. Budi also explained there are four groups in society vulnerable to malnutrition: pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, toddlers, and TBC patients. “If the nutritional adequacy of these four targets is met, our health problems will drop drastically. The evidence is already in international journals,” he said.