Exciting things are happening in Indonesia. The newly elected President, Prabowo Subianto is working to make good on a campaign promise to feed nearly 90 million children and pregnant women. The nation has suffered from malnutrition, especially for children under the age of five.
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The proposed cost of the program through 2029 is $28 billion. While opponents argue that the price is unsustainable, Subianto is confident it will succeed. The program is part of a longer-term goal and will provide 83 million students with free school lunches, including milk. The program will be instituted in over 400,000 schools. The goal is to develop Indonesia’s human resources by 2045 to achieve a “Golden Indonesia” generation.
During his inauguration speech, Subianto said, “Too many of our brothers and sisters are below the poverty line, too many of our children go to school without breakfast and do not have clothes for school.” The new president says his team has run all the numbers, and the program is sustainable.
The program will have a first-year budget of $4.3 billion, covering 19.5 million children and pregnant women in 2025. Government spending for the program must remain under three percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Head of the new Nation Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, said the money would buy rice, chicken, beef, fish, vegetables, fruit, and milk. The agency will be working with almost 2,000 cooperatives who will supply the necessary products to provide meals.
The Importance Of The Free Lunch Program To Indonesia
The first meal delivery was to a primary school in the satellite city of Depok, near Jakarta. The 740 students at the school had nutritious meals of chicken, rice, vegetables, and other foods. The program aims to provide one meal daily to each student in early childhood education through senior high school grades. Meals will be provided at no cost to the students and foster better learning ability.
In 2023, the United Nations Children’s Fund reported that an estimated one in 12 children under 5 suffer from malnourishment. Lack of nutrition leads to long-term development of children. The lunch program will give students a boost and help them succeed.
Indonesia enjoys a robust tourist industry but sometimes struggles to “take care of her own.” The implementation of this meal program will help citizens succeed.
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