JAKARTA - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said the government had distributed the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to around 55 million beneficiaries as of Monday, January 5. According to him, this progress is considered very fast compared to other countries that have similar policies, such as Brazil.
Prabowo explained that Indonesia was able to achieve this figure in just one year. Meanwhile, Brazil was only able to channel a free meal program to around 40 million beneficiaries after 11 years of implementation.
"Today there are 55 million beneficiaries (MBG) in Indonesia, which means it is the same as feeding eight times Singapore. Every day we feed 55 million mouths. The President of Brazil told me, they reached 40 million (recipients) in 11 years, we are 55 million in one year," said Prabowo in a speech. National Christmas Celebration, Monday night.
He then revealed the background of the policy. He said, this idea came after he often felt reluctant to see children in rural areas who were approaching adolescence, but their physical condition did not reflect their age due to malnutrition.
Starting from this experience, Prabowo said he had studied and studied policies in various countries related to community nutrition. One of the references is India, which prioritizes state budgets for nutritious meal programs for vulnerable groups.
"I travel the world, I study. I see how India helps its poor people with free nutritious food," he continued.
Now, the Indonesian government has succeeded in realizing this policy massively. In fact, according to him, the MBG program has also received appreciation from the international community.
It tells the story that experts from the Rockefeller Institute once considered MBG to be the best government investment. This is because every Rp1 investment in the MBG program can generate an economic multiplier effect of 5-35 times.
However, Prabowo emphasized that the economic impact was not the main goal of the program. For him, the most important thing is to ensure that Indonesian children get adequate nutrition.
"I don't pursue it. I'm just driven by the feeling of not being able to see Indonesian children who are malnourished," he concluded.
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