National Nutrition Agency Announces 4 New Priority Groups for Free Nutritious Meals Programme
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has updated the target focus of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme by prioritising community groups deemed most in need of nutritional fulfilment intervention. This step was taken through the continuous updating and validation of beneficiary data to ensure the programme is more accurately targeted.
Deputy Head and Spokesperson for BGN, Agustina Arumsari, stated that accurate data serves as the primary foundation in formulating national nutrition policy. She stressed that the government wants to ensure nutritional assistance is genuinely received by the groups in need.
In the programme refocusing process, BGN has established several priority groups for MBG recipients, namely: Children in 3T regions (Disadvantaged, Frontier, and Outermost), pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers.
“Accurate data is very important because it forms the basis for us in formulating beneficiary policy. The goal is to ensure nutritional intervention is given to groups that truly need it so that the programme’s benefits can be felt optimally,” Arum said during a press conference in Jakarta, as quoted from detikhealth on Wednesday (24/6/2026).
She explained that BGN is currently continuing to update and validate beneficiary data by integrating various indicators that reflect the conditions of communities in the field. Arum noted that several factors are considered in determining the priority of MBG beneficiaries. These factors include nutritional resilience, socio-economic conditions, and the community’s access to meeting nutritional needs.
“We want to ensure that the policies adopted are truly data-based. Therefore, we continue to improve data quality so it can provide a more accurate picture of community groups needing nutritional support,” she said.
BGN has also conducted identification and mapping of several regions and educational units as part of the data validation process. The mapping results will be continuously updated as new data and field verification results come in.
Arum emphasised that the refocusing being carried out is not merely a programme adjustment, but an effort to ensure every policy adopted aligns with the needs of the community. “The refocusing we are doing is not simply a programme adjustment, but part of an effort to ensure every policy is truly based on community needs. Therefore, data becomes the primary foundation in the entire decision-making process,” she said.