Komnas HAM sets out six measures to improve free meals programme

Komnas HAM Shares Six Measures to Improve Free Meal Program

Reporter

October 8, 2026 | 05:04 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has shared its six recommendations to improve the free nutritious meal (MBG) program governance.

Komnas HAM Commissioner for Assessment and Research, Uli Parulian Sihombing, explained several things about the study, which focuses on MBG governance and the situation observation report. The study itself, Uli said, was based on human rights instruments, focus group discussions (FGDs), and field observations in West Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, and West Java.

Here are the six recommended measures for the government to improve the free nutritious meal program:

First, Komnas HAM advises accurate MBG targeting by prioritizing vulnerable groups. These include pregnant and breastfeeding people, toddlers outside of preschools, students from underprivileged households, and those in disadvantaged, outermost, and frontier regions.

Second, the government must strengthen governance, transparency, accountability, and cross-sectoral coordination. This includes clarifying the authority between the central government, regional governments, as well as the military in police.

Third, prioritizing nutritional safety and quality by strengthening food safety standards, fulfilling the Hygiene Sanitation Certificate (SLHS), monitoring public kitchens, waste management, transparency of nutritional content, and ensuring a swift and transparent mechanism for handling and recovering food poisoning victims.

Fourth, Komnas HAM advises protecting the rights of MBG kitchen workers through job security, decent wages, Occupational Safety and Health (K3) protection, reasonable working hours, and social security.

Fifth, a fair, transparent, and independent law enforcement against food safety and environmental violations, as well as allegations of corruption and the management of MBG.

Sixth, creating space for meaningful public participation and oversight in monitoring the MBG program as well as evaluation, policy advocacy, and victim assistance.

Komnas HAM has submitted the recommendations to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Uli said.

Meanwhile, Pramono Ubaid Tanthowi, Coordinator of the Komnas HAM Subcommission on Human Rights Enforcement, emphasized the need for progressive and immediate state responsibility in the implementation of MBG.

According to Pramono, immediate steps include developing a roadmap and achieving targets for the quantity and quality of MBG, reducing food poisoning incidents, fair law enforcement, victim recovery, revising the Presidential Regulation, and multisectoral coordination.

Read: Survey Finds 61.6% of Indonesians Support Continuing MBG Program

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