Ministry of Health collaborates to boost healthy life expectancy through Nutri-level

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Health, through cross-sector collaboration with Lippo Mall, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), and PT Siloam International Hospitals Tbk, is boosting healthy life expectancy by strengthening the nutrition labelling policy or Nutri-Level. “Our main task is to raise the Indonesian population’s life expectancy from 72 to 76 years, and ensure that healthy life expectancy increases from age 60 to 65 years,” said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in Jakarta on Wednesday. According to Budi, this programme is not merely an administrative policy, but a national movement to save lives by providing transparent nutrition information to every family. It forms part of the government’s broader efforts to curb the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and kidney problems, which are currently the leading causes of death in Indonesia. The urgency of this policy is supported by data from The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) 2023, which records high mortality rates due to NCDs. Details include 337,277 deaths from stroke, 264,668 from heart disease, 56,118 from kidney disease, and 51,623 from hypertension. Additionally, the prevalence of kidney disease in the community is very high, reaching more than 35.2 million cases. Budi added that the success of future health programmes greatly depends on collaboration with all components of society and industry to create better lifestyle changes. “Health programmes will succeed if we implement them together. This is not just about business, but it’s about saving lives. We want the public to shift to a new lifestyle that is more aware of what they consume,” he said. Nutri-Level uses a simple labelling system with categories A to D to help consumers recognise the sugar, salt, and fat (SSF) content in ready-to-drink beverage products. As an initial implementation step in public spaces, Fore Coffee and Xing Fu Tang outlets at Lippo Mall Nusantara have officially adopted this labelling as of 12 May 2026. On the same occasion, President of Universitas Pelita Harapan Stephanie Riady stated that this collaboration will reach the public widely through an extensive retail network across various regions. “The health of the future is determined by how easily the public can understand their daily consumption information. The socialisation of the Nutri-Level programme will be broadcast through digital signage across the entire e-commerce network with a total of 70 malls spread across 18 provinces and 37 cities throughout Indonesia,” she said. They aim to ensure that health education is present in spaces close to people’s daily activities, so that lifestyle changes can occur in a real and sustainable manner.