Ministry of Population and Family Development, National Nutrition Agency Align Policies to Strengthen Free Nutritious Meals for Mothers and Toddlers
The Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga)/BKKBN and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) are aligning policies to strengthen the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Programme for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers (3B).
Minister of Population and Family Development/Head of BKKBN Wihaji stated that efforts to create a healthier Indonesian generation begin at the start of life, considering that fulfilling nutrition for mothers and children is one of the main keys to preventing stunting.
“Why is the MBG 3B important? One of the causes of stunting is a lack of nutritional intake. This is the state’s presence through the MBG 3B Programme to address the causes of stunting related to nutritional fulfilment,” Wihaji said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.
He explained that the targets are therefore pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers not enrolled in early childhood education. Technically, the implementation will continue to be synergised between Kemendukbangga/BKKBN and BGN.
According to him, the success of MBG 3B is determined not only by the distribution of nutritious food but also through strengthening collaboration between ministries and agencies, making data synchronisation an important step so that aid distribution is on target and programme achievements can be measured accurately.
In addition, he also urged that programme implementation consider geographical conditions, especially in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions, including support for cadres who are the front line of assistance in the field.
“Variations in incentives according to workload and regional conditions, as well as employment social security protection for cadres, need to be a shared concern,” Wihaji said.
In line with this, Deputy Head of BGN Agustina Arumsari emphasised the importance of using aligned data between agencies as the basis for programme implementation.
“Technically, please follow up, especially by our Head of the Data and Information Centre. The data sources should be studied, the method of obtaining them should be studied, so that later we have data that is equally close to valid and becomes a shared reference, both at Kemendukbangga/BKKBN and at BGN,” she said.
A number of strategic agendas were discussed in the meeting, including the finalisation of technical guidelines for food distribution, strengthening nutrition education and food safety for MBG 3B targets, strengthening the role of cadres in nutrition assistance and education, safeguarding food safety, and supporting the fulfilment of needs for MBG Programme assistance cadres.
Kemendukbangga/BKKBN together with all relevant ministries and agencies are committed to strengthening synergy so that the MBG 3B Programme can run more effectively, be on target, and provide real benefits for mothers and children, as well as realising healthier and higher quality Indonesian families.