Indonesia's Free Meals Programme Seeks Funding Boost to Reach 82.9 Million

TheIndonesia.id - The head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has proposed an additional Rp100 trillion (approximately US$6.09 billion) to support the government’s Free Meals Programme, aimed at reaching 82.9 million beneficiaries this year.

The recommendation was made during a meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Friday, where Hindayana stressed that the current budget of Rp71 trillion would not be sufficient to meet the programme's target.

"We conveyed that Rp100 trillion is sufficient to provide food to all 82.9 million beneficiaries," Hindayana said after the meeting, according to Antara News Agency.

The meeting was prompted by reports from the public indicating that children were not receiving meals even after 10 days of the programme's launch. This raised concerns for President Prabowo, who called for faster implementation and better coordination between ministries and agencies to ensure wider coverage.

Hindayana explained that with the current budget, only 17.5 million beneficiaries could be reached by September 2025. To address this gap, additional funding is crucial to meet the programme’s goals.

The Free Nutritious Meals programme was officially launched on January 6, 2025, with a focus on improving the nutritional intake of vulnerable groups, including children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to the high school level. In its first phase (January–April 2025), the programme is targeting 3 million beneficiaries, with plans to expand to 6 million from April to August 2025.