Minister Wihaji: Family Support Teams Take on New Role Distributing Free Meals to 3B Group

Koba, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) - Minister of Population and Family Development and Head of the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Wihaji, has stated that Family Support Teams (TPK) have been assigned a new task of distributing the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme to pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers not enrolled in early childhood education, collectively known as the 3B group. This move is intended to broaden the reach of nutritional services to target families.

During a visit to monitor the implementation of these duties in Central Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, on Wednesday, the Minister said his visit aimed to ensure the new task was being carried out according to regulations. He explained that the new responsibility for TPK is mandated by Article 47 of Presidential Regulation Number 115 of 2025, which governs the utilisation of family support cadres to distribute MBG while simultaneously providing education to the target groups.

“This is in accordance with the mandate of Presidential Regulation 115, Article 47, which states the utilisation of family support cadres for distribution and education,” he said. According to Wihaji, monitoring results in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province show that the implementation of the TPK’s new duties has been progressing well, although not all regions share the same level of readiness.

He explained that the distribution of MBG for the 3B group is an additional task for TPK, who have previously been assisting pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, toddlers, adolescents, and the elderly in family development programmes. He noted that the MBG programme for the 3B group is a presidential priority programme with different characteristics compared to free meal programmes in other countries, which generally target students.

“There are many MBG programmes for schoolchildren; 77 countries implement it, but MBG for the 3B group might only exist in Indonesia,” he said. Wihaji added that the distribution of MBG for the 3B group in Central Bangka Regency is also running well, despite facing several obstacles and challenges in the field.