The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program has once again come under public scrutiny following allegations of corruption in the governance of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). As the government works to improve the program’s governance, it has also begun refocusing its implementation by prioritizing pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, young children, and communities in Indonesia’s disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions, following criticism that the program has not effectively reached its intended beneficiaries.
Professor Sri Raharjo of FTP UGM stated that the objectives of the MBG program are often perceived as being identical to those of the national stunting reduction program, even though the two initiatives have different priorities.
“The MBG program is actually intended to improve nutritional status. It is often perceived as being the same as a stunting reduction program, even though they should serve different purposes,” said Professor Sri Raharjo on Tuesday (Jun. 30).
According to Professor Sri Raharjo, the previous administration had implemented an accelerated stunting-reduction program for approximately ten years. Therefore, the experience from that initiative should have served as an important reference in designing the MBG program.
One of the program’s fundamental weaknesses is that its beneficiaries have not been prioritized based on actual nutritional needs.
“If the goal is to improve nutritional status, then the beneficiaries should be those who are nutritionally deficient or belong to marginalized communities,” he said.
He believes the government initially focused on the ambitious target of reaching approximately 82 million beneficiaries. As a result, essential supporting components, including infrastructure, human resources, and food safety systems, were not fully prepared when the program was launched. This became evident in several food poisoning incidents, which were only followed by improvements in sanitation and hygiene standards.
“The target was certainly ambitious, without sufficient consideration of the process or the readiness needed to support its implementation,” he said.
Beyond implementation readiness, Professor Raharjo also highlighted the substantial budget allocated to the MBG program through the establishment of the BGN. The policy has reduced budget allocations for ministries and regional governments.
Rather than creating an entirely new system, he believes the government should have built on the lessons learned from the stunting reduction program, which had been in place for years.
“I would describe it as ‘too much, too soon.’ The lessons learned from the stunting reduction program should have been used as a reference in designing the MBG program,” he said.
Professor Sri Raharjo explained that the previous stunting reduction program involved multiple ministries carrying out interventions according to their respective roles and responsibilities. These coordinated efforts included improving sanitation, providing nutrition education, and delivering social assistance to increase public access to nutritious food.
“That approach was more systematic than establishing a new institution with significant budgetary requirements,” he added.
Responding to the alleged corruption in the implementation of the MBG program, Professor Raharjo said the issue extends beyond individual misconduct and also relates to program design that may create opportunities for corruption.
“Corruption is influenced by the individuals involved, but opportunities for corruption can also arise from the design of the program itself,” he said.
He argued that the MBG implementation scheme, which involves Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG), foundations, and implementing partners, creates a lengthy management chain that increases the number of points requiring oversight. The more intermediaries involved, the greater the risk of rent-seeking practices and kickbacks if oversight is inadequate.
He suggested that the government consider a simpler implementation mechanism, such as using existing school cafeterias or kitchens, to streamline bureaucratic processes and make budget management easier to monitor.
In addition to governance, Professor Sri Raharjo emphasized the importance of data-driven evaluation. If the primary objective of the MBG program is to improve nutritional status, he said, the government must first establish baseline data on beneficiaries’ nutritional status before implementation begins.
“If the objective is to improve nutritional status, the condition of beneficiaries should first be measured as a baseline. That way, the program’s effectiveness can be evaluated after implementation,” he explained.
Through such evaluations, the government can identify regions where the program has been successful and areas that still require improvement, allowing evidence-based refinement.
Professor Sri Raharjo hopes that evaluations of the MBG program will focus not only on the number of meals distributed but also on its effectiveness in improving nutritional status in line with the program’s original objectives.
Author: Zabrina Kumara
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Jasmine Ferdian
Photo: papua60detik.id