Presidential Envoy: Free Nutrition Eating Program Is Not Mandatory

JAKARTA The Presidential Special Envoy for Climate and Energy Hashim Djojohadikusumo emphasized that the Free Nutrition Food (MBG) program designed by the government is not mandatory. He ensured that there was no element of coercion in its implementation.

"I want to emphasize that there is no element of coercion. No one will be forced to eat if they don't want to. There are Indonesian people who are obese, there are children from rich families who are also obese. There will be no coercion action, this is only based on voluntaryism," said Hashim in a statement quoted from ANTARA, Thursday, May 22.

The MBG program is said to reach around 82 million Indonesian citizens. Hashim detailed that the main target of this program includes around 48 million school children, 4.3 million infants in the womb, as well as early childhood in the PAUD institution (Education of Early Childhoods).

According to him, the expansion of the program to include pregnant women is based on the importance of proper nutritional intake for the fetus during the nine months of pregnancy. This also responds to various suggestions received by the elected President Prabowo Subianto government.

Hashim revealed that one of Prabowo's main reasons for pushing this program was the high number of children going to school without breakfast.

About 41 percent of the total school children go to study on an empty stomach. This involves 18 million children. So, this is one of the motivators for Mr. Prabowo to introduce a free nutritious food program," he said.

He added that children who study without breakfast will find it difficult to absorb lessons due to lack of energy during study hours.

Furthermore, Hashim said that this program also has the potential to be a driver of national economic growth. If the government provides food for 82 million people every day, there will be an increase in demand for food products such as eggs, milk, and vegetables.

"The eggs will be supplied locally, the vegetables will be supplied locally. Maybe in the first or second year, most of the milk will be imported from neighboring countries, especially New Zealand and Australia, and maybe some from India," he explained.

The government estimates that the budget requirement for the implementation of the MBG program will reach 25 to 35 billion US dollars. The budget is intended to reach around 82.9 million beneficiaries starting next year.

"We expect this program will increase our GDP by between 1 to 2 percent per year," said Hashim.