Minister Wihaji Proposes Free Nutritious Meal Programme Focus on Six Provinces to Reduce Stunting

The Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga) has advised the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to prioritise six provinces in the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme if it intends to significantly reduce stunting rates. This is because almost half of the national stunting cases are concentrated in six specific regions.

Minister of Population and Family Development, Wihaji, stated that according to the 2024 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI), nearly half of stunted toddlers are concentrated in West Java (approximately 638,000), Central Java (4seb486,000), East Java (431,000), North Sumatra (316,000), East Nusa Tenggara (214,000), and Banten (210,000).

He suggested that the BGN focus the MBG programme on these six provinces to accelerate the national reduction of stunting. According to Wihaji, determining priority areas should not be based solely on the highest percentage of stunting, but must also consider the total number of cases being addressed. “Priority areas should not only be based on the highest percentage of stunting, but also on the largest number of stunted toddlers,” Wihaji said on Friday, 4 June 2026.

He noted that if the government can significantly reduce stunting rates in these six provinces, the impact on national achievements will be immense, as approximately 50 per cent of Indonesia’s stunting cases are located in these regions.

This proposal follows the BGN’s plan to shift the focus of the MBG programme to the ‘3B’ group: pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers. Wihaji supports this move, viewing it as aligned with the strategy for accelerating stunting reduction. He noted that the ‘3B’ group is within the first 1,000 days of life, a phase that is crucial for physical growth, brain development, and future health quality.

“Various studies show that nutritional interventions provided from pregnancy through to age two yield a much greater impact,” he said. Wihaji believes focusing on pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers is the right strategy to improve human resource quality and support Indonesia’s demographic bonus targets. However, he emphasised that programme effectiveness would be maximised if interventions are directed towards regions with high stunting burdens, high rates of anaemia in pregnant women, chronic energy deficiency (KEK), and high poverty levels.

In addition to the six provinces with the highest number of cases, Wihaji noted that Eastern Indonesian regions, such as East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, and Maluku, must remain a primary focus for the government. Data from the 2024 SSGI shows the national stunting prevalence is at 19.8 per cent, a decrease from 21.5 per cent in 2023, but still far from the national target of 14.2 per cent by 2029.

Consequently, Wihaji believes that focusing interventions on vulnerable groups and regions with the highest number of cases can serve as a more effective strategy to accelerate national stunting reduction. “In principle, we support and are ready to collaborate with the BGN so that the President’s priority programme can deliver a real impact for the community,” said Wihaji.

Head of the BGN, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, stated that following the change in leadership, her agency will focus more heavily on groups deemed to need the most nutritional intervention: pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, toddlers, and primary school-aged children. She mentioned that nutritionists and paediatricians involved with the BGN suggest interventions should focus on the first 1,000 days of life up to approximately nine years of age. “Nutritional intervention is most effective from the first month of pregnancy until the age of nine, or until primary school. That is the target we are pursuing,” she said.