The supervision will focus on checking compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs), Indonesian Ombudsman member Yeka Hendra Fatika said after a coordination meeting with head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana.
The meeting took place at the office of the Indonesian Ombudsman in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Fatika explained that so far, the Indonesian Ombudsman has not been able to supervise the free meals program in all 38 Indonesian provinces, given the limited number of its representative offices in the country.
"The Ombudsman only has 34 offices. Thus, it will be carried out in 34 points," he said.
He further emphasized that his institution is not focusing on supervising the use of the state budget for the free meals program.
Meanwhile, BGN head Dadan Hindayana said that his agency has asked the Indonesian Ombudsman to enhance the supervision of the free meals program, especially at nutritional fulfillment service units (SPPG) that supply food for the program.
He explained that the Ombudsman's supervision can improve the program's quality and thereby, provide large benefits to beneficiaries.
Earlier, the BGN took note of an incident in Bogor, West Java, where hundreds of students reportedly got food poisoning after consuming food provided under the free meals program.
In a statement released on Tuesday, deputy for systems and governance at the BGN, Tigor Pangaribuan, said that his team took prompt action by conducting laboratory tests on the food items and the ingredients used to prepare them to determine the cause of the food poisoning.
It has also issued a warning to the SPPG responsible for managing the food.
The Indonesian government officially launched the Free Nutritious Meals program on January 6, 2025, as one of the main programs of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka for their 2024–2029 term.
Through the program, the government aims to improve the nutritional status of children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to high school level.
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Translator: Rio Feisal, Raka Adji
Editor: Primayanti
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