President Prabowo Reaffirms Commitment to Tackling Stunting and Driving Inclusive Economic Growth
President Prabowo Subianto has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to accelerating human resource development, tackling stunting, and strengthening inclusive economic growth. The President said that his direct visits to villages had opened his eyes to the condition of children suffering from stunting.
“I would ask their ages and children I assumed were four, five or six years old turned out to be ten, eleven or twelve. I then learnt that 25 per cent of our children suffer from stunting — impaired growth,” the President said in his remarks at the Business Summit roundtable during his working visit to Washington DC, United States, on Wednesday, 18 February 2026.
To address the problem, President Prabowo explained that the government had made budget savings through expenditure efficiencies and cuts to unproductive and misuse-prone spending, reallocating the funds to priority programmes.
“This is what I used to reallocate funds to those programmes. So I was accused of being wasteful, and so on. No, no — this is a reallocation of resources,” he said.
President Prabowo explained that one of the flagship programmes is the provision of free nutritious meals for children, which has received international recognition. He noted that the Rockefeller Institute had assessed the policy as the best possible investment.
“Every dollar spent on free food for children, according to the Rockefeller Institute, returns at least seven dollars, but in the long term can deliver returns of up to 35 times,” President Prabowo said.
The President added that the programme also creates an economic multiplier effect through job creation and increased demand for agricultural produce. He noted that the policy’s impact is also reflected in a surge in domestic consumption.
Addressing US business leaders, President Prabowo underscored Indonesia’s commitment to maintaining its investment climate and strengthening strategic partnerships. He invited American businesses to regard Indonesia as a long-term strategic partner.
“This should be a win-win situation where everyone benefits. With benefits comes prosperity. That is the lesson I have learnt from history. Prosperity comes from good governance, clean government. Prosperity comes from stability,” he continued.