The agency's acting head, Sundoyo, stated on Tuesday that the family support teams are more familiar with the conditions of families needing meal interventions. Therefore, their involvement will make food distribution under the program more efficient.
"The teams visit families directly, so they know whether there are pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, or toddlers in the household. They collect the data," he said.
He added that the agency has data on families that can be used for the free nutritious meals program, which aims, among other things, to prevent stunting.
Sundoyo explained that if a family member is identified as being at risk of stunting, the family support teams work to address the issue.
"The teams bring the child suspected of stunting to a community health center (puskesmas)," he explained.
"If the puskesmas confirms a stunting diagnosis and intervention is required, such as ensuring the child receives enough nutritious food, the family support teams must also make sure the food actually reaches the child," he added.
Sundoyo emphasized that the provision of nutritious meals, especially as part of stunting reduction efforts, must begin at the community level, starting with neighborhoods and families.
"Hopefully, this free nutritious meal program will be effectively targeted, allowing us to develop exceptional human resources and achieve the Golden Indonesia 2045 vision," he stated.
The free nutritious meals program was proposed by President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka as part of their 2024–2029 agenda.
Recently, the government established the National Nutrition Agency to support the program's implementation.
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Tambahan anggaran Rp10 M untuk sosialisasikan pentingnya makan bergizi
Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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