Peer-reviewed article
Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program Impact on Child Well-Being and Gender Equity in Indonesia
Ahmad Shofiyuddin Ichsan, Samsudin Samsudin, Nindya Rachman Pranajati, Mujawazah Mujawazah, Hendra Listya Kurniawan et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Indonesia's Free Nutritious Meals Program aims to address chronic malnutrition and stunting among schoolchildren, which harm cognitive development and school performance. The program was launched in January 2025 as part of the National Medium-Term Development Plan to support education quality and gender equity. A systematic literature review identified significant implementation challenges such as food safety concerns, weak coordination between sectors, and infrastructure gaps, alongside opportunities for improving nutrition and school attendance. The program could succeed with stronger regulation, better management systems, and community involvement.
Key points
- Chronic malnutrition and stunting impair cognitive development, school attendance, and academic performance in Indonesian children
- Implementation challenges include regulatory gaps, logistical inefficiencies, food safety concerns, administrative burdens, and weak inter-sectoral coordination
- Opportunities include enhanced nutritional status, improved attendance and academic achievement, and empowerment of local enterprises
- Success requires comprehensive regulation, GPS-enabled management systems, rigorous monitoring, community engagement, and nutrition curriculum integration
- Future research should use longitudinal mixed-methods designs with international comparisons to evaluate long-term effectiveness
Limitations
This is a qualitative systematic literature review that analyzes policy documents and existing academic literature rather than primary data collection or program evaluation. It describes potential impacts and challenges of the MBG program but does not present empirical evidence of actual program outcomes or effectiveness with children.
Abstract
Chronic malnutrition and stunting among Indonesian schoolchildren significantly impair cognitive development, attendance, and academic performance. The Free Nutritious Meals (Makan Bergizi Gratis/MBG) Program, launched in January 2025 under Indonesia's National Medium-Term Development Plan, addresses these challenges to support Sustainable Development Goal 4. This study examines implementation challenges and opportunities of the MBG program in improving basic education quality, emphasizing child well-being and gender equity. A qualitative systematic literature review analyzed policy documents and academic literature on school feeding interventions. Critical challenges include regulatory gaps, logistical inefficiencies, food safety concerns, suboptimal nutritional standards, administrative burdens, budget misallocation, weak inter-sectoral coordination, infrastructure deficits, limited capacity, and community resistance. However, significant opportunities exist: enhanced nutritional status, improved attendance and achievement, empowerment of local enterprises, and nutrition curriculum integration. The program holds substantial potential if addressed through comprehensive regulation, GPS-enabled management systems, rigorous monitoring, community engagement, and curriculum integration. Future research should employ longitudinal mixed-methods designs with international comparative frameworks to evaluate long-term effectiveness on child welfare and gender equity outcomes.