Gov’t: Budget, HR, Infrastructure Crucial to MBG’s Program Success

Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana delivers a press statement after attending a joint meeting with President Prabowo in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java province, Saturday (05/03). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana outlined three key elements for the successful implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG), namely budget, human resources, and infrastructure.

According to Dadan, the budget issue has been resolved. “The President said that matters related to the budget have been politically settled,” he said in a press statement after a joint meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java province, Saturday (05/03).

However, Dadan highlighted that human resources remain an actual challenge, particularly in ensuring the availability and readiness of the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG). He added that thousands of personnel have been trained to work in the units.

“The SPPG units’ heads are part of the Indonesian Development Pioneer Scholars (SPPI) program. So far, we have trained 2,000 individuals, albeit six have resigned, leaving us with 1,994 personnel. To develop faster services, it depends heavily on our human resources,” he said.

To address this shortage, the Agency has partnered with Universitas Pertahanan (Unhan) to train 30,000 prospective SPPG heads in the program’s third wave. “God willing, training will be completed by the end of July, so we aim to begin the acceleration in August,” Dadan said.

In terms of infrastructure, Dadan underscored that the number of SPPG facilities must be increased to meet program targets. Therefore, he expressed belief that cooperation and partnership with various stakeholders are essential.

“It means that we need to open partnerships as widely as possible with various elements,” he added.

Still, Dadan recognized challenges related to monitoring the quality and adequacy of infrastructure provided by partners. To address this, the Agency is developing more detailed SOPs for selecting and supervising partners.

“We’re meeting now to refine SOPs for selecting partners and supervising infrastructure that the partners must prepare,” he stated.

With strengthened efforts in these three key areas, the Government aims to ensure a larger and more structured scale implementation of the MBG program. This program is expected to effectively support the goal of fostering a healthier and higher-quality Indonesian generation. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (FI/MUR)