KPAI Urges Improvement of Free Nutritious Meal Governance Following Dismissal of National Nutrition Agency Head

The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) has requested that the change in leadership at the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) serve as a momentum to overhaul the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. KPAI maintains that the evaluation of this programme cannot follow standard government procedures because its impact is felt directly by the beneficiaries.

KPAI Vice Chairman Jasra Putra stated that food provision programmes have rapid consequences, both in terms of benefits and risks. Therefore, he argued, improvements to MBG governance cannot wait for annual evaluations. “Providing food is a programme where the impact is instantaneous. The same applies when governance errors lead to mass food poisoning. Consequently, MBG governance requires swift and fundamental changes; it cannot wait for annual evaluations,” Jasra said in a written statement on Wednesday, 3 June 2026.

KPAI has noted various inputs from civil society, netizens, and supervisory bodies regarding allegations of high food poisoning rates during the implementation of the MBG. According to Jasra, these cases have reportedly affected tens of thousands of beneficiaries, including children, mothers, infants, and the elderly.

While viewing the dismissal of BGN Head Dadan Hindayana as having occurred too late, KPAIT stated that the move must be a starting point to return the MBG to its original objectives. “We do not want the MBG to merely be a food distribution programme. This programme must return to its initial goal: improving national nutritional status, reducing stunting, and reaching vulnerable groups and priority regions,” he said.

KPAI also requested that the Ministry of Health transparently explain the effectiveness of the MBG in reducing stunting rates. This explanation should include the programme’s achievements for children in frontier, outermost, and least developed (3T) regions, as well as vulnerable groups targeted by the policy.

Beyond highlighting programme governance, KPAI reminded that improving child nutrition is not achieved through food provision alone. Jasra referenced the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child’s concerns regarding the disparity in child healthcare services in Papua, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara.

He added that the state must also regulate the food environment that poses risks to child health, including the promotion of unhealthy foods and beverages. “It must not be that on one hand, the state improves nutrition through the MBG, but on the other hand, the food environment is filled with industries promoting unhealthy consumption for children,” Jasra said.

KPAI also highlighted the exposure to addictive products such as cigarettes and alcohol, as well as advertising practices deemed to influence the consumption patterns of children and adolescents.

In its statement, KPAI reiterated seven recommendations from civil society gathered during approximately one and a half years of monitoring the MBG implementation. These recommendations include prioritising programme distribution to food-insecure areas and regions with high nutritional problems, conducting a thorough evaluation of MBG governance, involving children in programme planning and evaluation, and strengthening food safety standards.

Furthermore, KPAI encouraged comprehensive nutritional education and healthy lifestyle promotion, increased community participation in programme supervision, and guarantees that there is no intimidation or negligence that could endanger children’s safety during the implementation of the MBG.

Jasra stated that the MBG should be part of a promotive and preventive approach to family health, particularly for families at risk of stunting. The programme also needs to be accompanied by strengthened nutritional literacy to reduce the consumption of excessive sugar, salt, and fat in children.

KPAI noted that stunting remains one of the highest complaints within the child health cluster they handle. In addition to stunting, complaints also relate to the fulfilment of basic health rights, consumption of unhealthy food, malnutrition, the fulfilment of rights for children with disabilities, basic health guarantees, alleged medical malpractice, and online addiction.

At the end of his statement, Jasra offered congratulations to the new Head of the BGN, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang. He expressed hope that the change in leadership would bring transformation to the implementation of the MBG.

“We hope that under the new leadership, the MBG becomes a gateway for changing the parenting and eating patterns of Indonesian families, rather than just a food distribution programme,” said Jasra.