Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program is the first of its kind to target the nutritional needs of toddlers, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers, according to Population and Family Development Minister Wihaji.

“Many countries have similar programs that serve schoolchildren. However, our MBG remains the only initiative in the world that covers pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers as well,” he said at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“This program was pioneered by Mr. President (Prabowo Subianto),” he added.

Wihaji explained that unlike similar programs elsewhere, the MBG also addresses the nutritional needs of children in their first 1,000 days of life—a critical period for growth and development—to prevent chronic malnutrition, or stunting.

He added that his ministry recently held a meeting with the parliament, Health Ministry, National Nutrition Agency (BGN), and Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) to formulate a definitive and effective scheme for distributing meals to toddlers, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.

“The MBG program continues to run for schoolchildren during the ongoing school holiday period, and we are working to finalize data for meals distribution to breastfeeding mothers, toddlers, and pregnant women,” he informed.

Wihaji affirmed that his ministry will continue to work closely with the BGN to ensure that MBG reaches these three groups of beneficiaries, and thereby support efforts to prepare quality human resources for the Golden Indonesia 2045 goal.

“Our ministry is responsible for collecting relevant data and distributing meals to toddlers, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. Meanwhile, the BGN is tasked with preparing the free nutritious meals,” he said.

During a meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday, the minister informed that his office will focus on serving 1.4 million families at risk of stunting, especially those experiencing severe financial hardship.

“We will handle matters related to nutritional intake and access to clean water, while educating them on how to prevent and address stunting,” he said.

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