NTB Provincial Government Proposes Prioritising Nutrition Service Units in Underdeveloped Regions
Mataram (ANTARA) - The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara has proposed that the establishment of Nutrition Service Fulfilment Units (SPPG) be prioritised, for now, in 3T regions (disadvantaged, frontier and outermost) in order to reach beneficiaries who have yet to be covered by the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG).
Fathul Gani, head of the MBG Task Force of the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government, acknowledged that NTB still needs SPPG, particularly in 3T regions.
“Cumulatively, the number of SPPG in NTB is already overloaded, but there are areas that remain unreached. It is these areas that we continue to propose to the BGN,” he said in Mataram on Wednesday.
He acknowledged that even though the number of SPPG in NTB is already full or more, regions can still propose the construction of new SPPG through the BGN regional coordinators in each regency/city. The proposals will then be adjusted according to the required number of SPPG and beneficiaries, before being forwarded to BGN headquarters.
“Proposals can still be submitted, because 3T regions in particular fall within national priorities, including for beneficiaries such as pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and toddlers,” said Fathul Gani.
“They have not yet begun operating because there is no certainty. These partners need assurance from the BGN on whether the SPPG already built in 3T areas can run normally or not, operationally speaking,” he said.
According to him, the BGN is currently re-verifying beneficiaries by name and address to prevent abuse through duplicate or fictitious beneficiary data in the MBG programme. However, as to how long the verification will take, he admitted he is still awaiting official information from the BGN.
“So the BGN wants to make sure the data provided is clear. There must be no erroneous or fictitious data. This data collection takes time, and we hope it can be carried out as quickly as possible,” he said.