Indonesia Launches $28 Billion Nationwide Nutrition Program “`

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s new government launched a substantial $28 billion initiative on Monday to provide meals to approximately 90 million children and pregnant women. This ambitious project aims to tackle malnutrition and stunting, although its affordability has been questioned.

The Free Nutritious Meal program fulfills a campaign pledge by President Prabowo Subianto, elected last year to lead Indonesia. The program aims to combat stunting affecting 21.5% of Indonesian children under five, while simultaneously boosting farmers’ incomes and crop value.

Subianto has committed to accelerating GDP growth from the current 5% to 8%.

During his October inauguration speech, Subianto highlighted widespread child malnutrition, emphasizing that his plan to provide free school lunches and milk to 83 million students in over 400,000 schools forms part of a broader strategy to cultivate a strong human capital base, achieving a “Golden Indonesia” generation by 2045.

Subianto stated, “Many of our citizens live below the poverty line; many children attend school without breakfast or proper clothing.”

Subianto’s flagship program, including free milk, is projected to cost over 450 trillion rupiah (US$28 billion). He confirmed that his administration had conducted thorough cost analyses and declared, “We are capable.”

Dadan Hindayana, head of the newly established National Nutrition Agency, stated that the program targets 19.47 million schoolchildren and pregnant women in 2025, with a budget of 71 trillion rupiah ($4.3 billion). This allocation is intended to maintain the annual deficit below the legislated 3% of GDP ceiling.

Hindayana detailed the program’s substantial procurement, including approximately 6.7 million tons of rice, 1.2 million tons of chicken, 500,000 tons of beef, 1 million tons of fish, various fruits and vegetables, and 4 million kiloliters of milk. At least 5,000 kitchens will be established nationwide.

On Monday, a school in Depok, a city near Jakarta, received a delivery of roughly 3,000 meals. SD Cilangkap 08’s 740 students received meals consisting of rice, stir-fried vegetables, tempeh, stir-fried chicken, and oranges.

Hindayana explained, “We deploy teams to each school to oversee daily meal distribution.” The program provides one daily meal to students from early childhood education through senior high school, covering one-third of their daily caloric needs, at no cost to the recipients.

However, this large-scale program has faced criticism from investors and analysts, encompassing concerns about potential industrial lobbying influence, logistical challenges, and the substantial strain on Indonesia’s state finances and economy.

Nailul Huda, an economic researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies, expressed concern that Indonesia’s tight fiscal position cannot support the program’s financial burden, potentially leading to increased national debt.

Huda noted, “The program’s effectiveness is questionable, and the strain on our national budget is excessive if 100% of the target recipients are reached, hindering Prabowo’s government from achieving its 8% economic growth target.”

He warned of potential negative impacts on the country’s balance of payments, considering Indonesia’s reliance on imports of rice, wheat, soybeans, beef, and dairy products.

Conversely, Reni Suwarso, director of the Institute for Democracy, Security and Strategic Studies, emphasized that Indonesia’s stunting rate remains far from the 14% reduction target set for 2024.

The 2023 Indonesian Health Survey reported a national stunting prevalence of 21.5%, a slight decrease of approximately 0.8% compared to the previous year. UNICEF estimates that one in twelve Indonesian children under five are wasted, and one in five are stunted.

Wasting refers to low weight for height, while stunting refers to low height for age; both are indicators of malnutrition.

Suwarso stressed, “This is a serious issue demanding immediate attention! Child malnutrition has severe and long-lasting consequences for the health and development of infants and young children across the nation.”

—Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan and Andi Jatmiko contributed to this report.