Government Targets MBG Recipient Re-Arrangement to be Completed Before August 5

JAKARTA - The government targets the rearrangement (refocusing) of beneficiaries of the free nutritious meal program (MBG) to be completed before August 5, 2026. This step is taken to ensure that the program is more targeted, ranging from determining the recipient group to preparing standard menus according to nutritional needs.

The Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) together with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) will work with nutrition experts to draft the criteria for beneficiaries and refine the MBG menu standards.

"The target is that we want to refine which schools we want to give, what age, where the elementary school is, where the location is, the focus is on stunting areas and so on," said Budi, Wednesday, July 29.

"Then, pregnant women, how is the vaccine, we hope that by August 5, 2026, everything will be completed, nutritionists will provide input to the Ministry of Health and BGN to determine the target," he added.

According to Budi, nutrition experts will also provide recommendations regarding the composition of the MBG menu to suit the needs of the target group. The adjustments include the type of food given, including protein sources and other food ingredients.

"For example, on the one hand, this wants to give peanuts, wants to give milk, wants to give what, it will later become part of the adjustment. I am very confident in the attitude of the new Head of BGN, he will quickly settle the data firmly. So, give us the opportunity to improve the program which I think is very important for this health," said Budi.

In addition to rearranging the beneficiaries, the Ministry of Health and BGN will also evaluate the impact of the MBG program on the nutritional condition of the community, especially in efforts to reduce the prevalence of stunting.

Budi explained that the government already has data on children who are stunted based on their population identification number (NIK), name, and address. This data will be matched with MBG recipients so that the development of each child can be monitored periodically through weighing at Posyandu.

"All stunted children have data based on NIK, name, and address. We mark whether he or she receives MBG or not. Every month we can monitor the results of the weighing at the Posyandu. If there is no improvement, we can evaluate, for example, whether the intake given is too much carbohydrate, even though the child needs more animal protein. From there, the program can be improved," said Budi.