IAW Urges Government to Strengthen Governance of Free Nutritious Meal Programme

Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW) has urged the government to strengthen the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme to ensure its implementation is transparent, accountable, and provides legal certainty for all involved parties. Iskandar Sitorus, Secretary Founder of IAW, stated that enhanced governance is crucial given the programme’s status as a national strategic initiative involving state funds and various stakeholders, from farmers, livestock breeders, and fishermen to cooperatives, MSMEs, and service provider partners. “The larger the scale of the programme, the greater the government’s responsibility to maintain its management system,” he said. According to Iskandar, the success of the MBG programme should not be measured solely by the number of operational kitchens or meals distributed, but also by the government’s ability to build a system that guarantees service quality, food safety, investment certainty, and protection for all involved parties. He noted several ongoing challenges in the programme’s implementation, including changes to technical guidelines, adjustments to kitchen capacity, partner verification processes, changes in the legal relationship between the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), foundations, and partners, as well as evaluations following suspected food poisoning incidents in several regions. IAW therefore encourages the government to maintain a balance between system improvements and the protection of communities and partners who have acted in good faith in running the programme. “A large programme will be remembered not for the size of its budget, but for its ability to build public trust,” Iskandar said. IAW hopes the government will use the current evaluation phase of the MBG programme to strengthen governance, clarify regulations, enhance oversight, and ensure that the use of state funds can be accounted for transparently and accountably. Data compiled by ANTARA indicates that by mid-2026, the Free Nutritious Meal programme had reached more than 63 million beneficiaries through approximately 29,600 Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) across various regions. Meanwhile, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) is strengthening the programme’s governance by improving effectiveness, evaluating SPPG operations, and adjusting the budget. BGN stated the indicative budget ceiling has been adjusted from Rp268 trillion to Rp229 trillion as part of a refocusing and governance improvement effort to make the programme more effective, efficient, transparent, and well-targeted.