Semarang Becomes Hub for ASEAN-ID Nourish Forum, Strengthening Synergy in Child Nutrition Fulfilment

The city of Semarang has successfully hosted the ASEAN-ID NOURISH: Forum on Healthy School Meals and Nutrition for Human Capital Development and Resilient Food System, held from 27 to 29 April 2026. Semarang was selected as the venue for the ASEAN-ID Nourish Forum as part of the Steering Committee of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) in the Asia-Pacific region for the 2026-2028 period. MUFPP itself is a network of cities worldwide collaborating to create safe, healthy, and sustainable food policies. The Mayor of Semarang, Agustina Wilujeng, stated that her administration aims to ensure all students can learn calmly and enthusiastically with their stomachs filled with nutritious food through the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Programme. “We want to ensure no more students have to learn on an empty stomach so they can focus on achieving their dreams,” Agustina said. The Director General of ASEAN Cooperation, Y.M. Ina H. Krisnamurthi, from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasised the importance of ASEAN cooperation that delivers tangible benefits to society. “For us in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is crucial to translate ASEAN-level commitments into practical cooperation and outcomes that can be directly felt by the public at the national level,” she asserted. The Deputy for Provision and Distribution of the National Nutrition Agency, Brigadier General TNI (Ret.) Suardi Samiran, also stressed that the Free Nutritious Meals Programme is not merely social assistance but a strategic investment in the cognitive potential of Indonesian children and a catalyst for a more resilient food system. “By ensuring every child has access to healthy and nutritious food at school, we are laying the foundation for a generation capable of leading, innovating, and competing globally,” he said. Beyond exchanging views and discussions, all participants also visited three locations of the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Unit Kitchens (Dapur SPPG) in Semarang, namely at SPPG Central Java Police, SPPG Unimus, and SPPG Padalangan. The visit to the SPPG aims to directly observe the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals Programme and identify opportunities for collaboration with all attending participants. The ASEAN-ID Nourish has successfully become a platform for knowledge sharing with the attendance of 120 participants in the National Dialogue, 7 ASEAN member countries, 11 external ASEAN partner countries and High Contracting Parties to TAC, 5 international organisations, and 7 civil society organisations. Moving forward, it is hoped that all participants can strengthen concrete cross-sector partnerships regarding nutritious meal programmes from the perspectives of health, agriculture, education, supply chains, and local economic empowerment.