Key Points:
- Programme key election promise of President Subianto
- At least 190 kitchens opened nationwide
- Government has allocated 62 US cents per meal
Jakarta: Indonesia launched an ambitious $4.3 billion free-meal programme on Monday to combat stunted growth due to malnutrition, a key election promise of President Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo has pledged to provide nutritious meals free to tens of millions of schoolchildren and pregnant women, saying it would improve their quality of life and boost economic growth.
“This is historic for Indonesia for the first time conducting a nationwide nutrition programme for toddlers, students, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers,” presidential spokesman Hasan Nasbi said late on Sunday.
At least 190 kitchens run by third-party catering services opened nationwide, including some run by military bases, and were busy preparing meals from midnight before distributing them to schoolchildren and pregnant women.
This is historic for Indonesia for the first time conducting a nationwide nutrition programme for toddlers, students, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.” – presidential spokesman Hasan Nasbi
Second-grader Khalifa Eldrian beamed after finishing his free lunch of rice, chicken, vegetables, and a banana at an elementary school in East Jakarta.
“I’m happy because the food was delicious… I can concentrate more when studying,” he told AFP.
The government has allocated 10,000 rupiahs (62 US cents) per meal and has a budget of 71 trillion rupiahs ($4.3 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year. It is set to deliver meals to almost 83 million people by 2029.
5pc by 2045
Stunting affects 21.5 per cent of children in the archipelago of some 282 million people. The Southeast Asian nation aims to reduce the rate to five percent by 2045.
Staff in a kitchen in Bogor, West Java, had worked tirelessly since just after midnight.
“We serve different menus every day, it has to be different so children won’t get bored,” staff member Ayu Pertiwi told AFP.
Ayu said they were able to serve fairly nutritious meals such as eggs and fish even with the limited budget, although meat would likely only be served twice a month.
We serve different menus every day, it has to be different so children won’t get bored.” — Ayu Pertiwi, staff member.
“We can still create various menus, but the options are limited. For us, the most important thing is the meal is nutritious,” she said.
Prabowo has championed the programme since the presidential campaign and his team has said the poorest and most remote areas of the Southeast Asian archipelago would be prioritised.
$10 billion deal
He travelled to several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, after he was sworn in last October seeking funding support.
He secured a $10 billion deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November for support in several sectors, including the free-meal programme.
However, analysts have said the scheme is not sustainable in the long term.
“I am quite pessimistic if everything is shouldered by the central government. Economically, it’s not sustainable,” Aditya Alta, a public policy analyst from the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies think tank, told AFP.
“Stunting is a multidimensional issue and addressing it through just one approach is insufficient,” he said.
