MBG for Five-Day School Week Set, Stunting-Prone Areas Get Additional Saturday Provision

The government is strengthening the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG) for schoolchildren. In a Limited Coordination Meeting with the President on Saturday (28/3), it was decided that students in five-day schools will receive MBG for five days in line with the learning schedule. However, a different policy applies in 3T regions (frontier, outermost, disadvantaged) and areas with high stunting prevalence. In these regions, MBG will continue to be provided up to Saturday. Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, described this step as a strategy to ensure that children in at-risk areas still receive daily nutritional intake. “Providing MBG up to Saturday in areas with high stunting is important so that children do not lose out on nutritional intake,” he said. BGN emphasised that the determination of priority areas is data-based. The main reference is the 2024 Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey (SSGI) from the Ministry of Health, focusing on Eastern Indonesia, Sumatra, and Papua. To ensure targeting accuracy, BGN is collaborating with local Education and Health Departments in the data collection process, covering the number of schools, students, and stunting levels. “Data integrity is key. This programme concerns the future of the young generation, so it must not miss the mark,” Dadan stressed. Through this policy, the government aims to achieve more equitable nutritional fulfilment for schoolchildren, especially in vulnerable areas, while accelerating the national decline in stunting rates. To date, BGN has not yet prepared or discussed technical guidelines related to the distribution of the MBG programme in distance learning conditions. Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana stated that President Prabowo Subianto instructed that the entire implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG) should focus on improving SPPG. President Prabowo Subianto emphasised that the free nutritious meals programme or MBG will not be stopped despite criticisms regarding the large budget needs amid fiscal pressures. Prabowo stated that strict action will be taken against kitchens that do not meet standards, with direct oversight in the field. He mentioned that the MBG Programme will resume distribution to recipients starting 31 March 2026.