The President intentionally reviews the implementation of the program every day to respond quickly to any obstacles in the field.
"Last night (August 25th), I received a report (that the number of MBG recipients) had exceeded 21 million people. So, I monitor it every day, including the latest information on the number of beneficiaries of the program, and if there are any problems. So, brothers and sisters, we can do it," Prabowo stated while inaugurating the Mahar Mardjono National Brain Hospital in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The President mentioned the MBG program during the inauguration ceremony at the hospital, as he wanted to demonstrate Indonesia's ability to implement various ambitious programs, despite the many doubts surrounding the process.
"The problem with the Indonesian nation is a lack of self-confidence. When I launched a program to provide nutritious food for all our children, many did not believe it, many disagreed, and even those who did agree thought it would take five to ten years. Some countries need five to ten years," he said.
"But yesterday I was proud. I was able to stand before the people's representatives on August 15th and report that 20,400,000 beneficiaries had received nutritious meals," he remarked.
Therefore, the President expressed his optimism that Indonesia could implement various other programs, such as meeting the current shortage of general practitioners and specialist doctors.
Prabowo stated that the shortage is 140,000 general practitioners and 70,000 specialist doctors.
To address this shortage, the President is targeting the opening of 148 specialist and subspecialist study programs in 57 medical faculties this year, as well as the opening of 30 new medical faculties at several universities across Indonesia.
"First comes the will, it must be done! In our hearts, if we have the intention, God willing, we will achieve it. We have the resources; we have to manage our resources. We will see," the President said.
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Translator: Genta Tenri Mawangi, Andi Firdaus, Martha Herlinaw
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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