TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto claimed that several world leaders are interested in learning about the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, which began on January 6, 2025.
"I have received letters from world leaders. They want to learn about MBG, even though we have just started. This is because they see we are very serious in our efforts," Prabowo said during a Cabinet Meeting with Ministers and Deputy Ministers at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday, March 21, 2025.
He reported that the MBG program has reached 3 million people in three months. However, he acknowledged that some people have complained about not yet seeing the program's effects.
"This is something that concerns me. They hear it is already available in the next village, they hear it is available in the next school. I said, 'We are doing our best, but we cannot reach everyone at once. Our country is very large. Please be patient,'" he explained.
Prabowo thus asked the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, to find creative ways to speed up the distribution of the MBG program. "I ask the Head of BGN and all officials to think of new and creative ways. How can we speed up, using a combined system or something else, because our people really need this," he said.
Dadan Hindayana previously stated that an additional budget of Rp25 trillion per month is needed to accelerate the Free Nutritious Meal Program, aiming to reach 82.9 million people by the end of 2025.
He explained that the current budget of Rp71 trillion would serve 17.5 million people until December 2025. However, President Prabowo has requested BGN to accelerate the distribution of MBG to reach 82.9 million people this year, due to numerous requests from students.
If the MBG program is accelerated in September, a total budget of Rp100 trillion will be needed until the end of December 2025. Furthermore, the budget will increase by Rp28 trillion per month in 2026, as the number of beneficiaries increases.
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