“Some 1.3 million (pregnant women to toddlers) have received meals,” Minister for Population and Family Development and BKKBN chief Wihaji told reporters after a press briefing on food poisoning cases linked to MBG in Jakarta.
According to ministry data, 1,323,307 recipients — or 5.13 percent of the 25.78 million target group based on population projections, Susenas, and family surveys — had been reached as of Sept. 17.
During a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday, Wihaji proposed accelerating MBG for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and toddlers outside early childhood programs by integrating Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) with Dashat.
He said the model would apply both in accessible areas and in the country’s most remote regions. Dashat managers have long experience providing supplementary food, including complementary breastfeeding foods for infants aged 6–12 months.
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That innovation won recognition from the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry in 2025 as one of the country’s best public service programs. Around 17,690 Dashat units now operate nationwide.
Wihaji added that BKKBN has forged strategic cooperation with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), covering field staff deployment, nutrition and stunting data use, and monitoring and evaluation.
“Distribution of MBG for target groups is essential so Indonesian mothers and children meet nutritional needs and avoid stunting risks,” he said.
He said MBG assistance for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers is supported by family planning and women’s organization cadres, who record data, distribute meals, provide counseling, and monitor progress.
By Sept. 30, there were 1,927 SPPG serving those groups, assisted by 18,872 cadres across the country, according to BKKBN provincial reports.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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