TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Population and Family Development proposes an alternative distribution of President Prabowo's flagship free nutritious meal program. The suggested community-based kitchen scheme is modeled after the family planning agency's DAHSAT program, which was created to overcome stunting in the country's children population.
Population and Family Development Minister Wihaji said on Friday that the proposed community-based kitchens are expected to be implemented particulary in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost Indonesian regions.
Nevertheless, Wihaji stressed that the proposal would not cancel car-based free nutritious meal distribution from Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPGs) but would complement the existing distribution mechanism.
According to Wihaji, the DAHSAT scheme allows the involvement of Family Assistance Teams (TPK) to deliver free meals directly to targeted beneficiaries since the number is smaller and the distance is closer. "They are within walking distance. We have trialed this in Bogor for a single neighborhood," he said.
Wihaji previously presented the proposed scheme in a limited coordination meeting at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs on Thursday, June 11.
In the same meeting, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, stated that they are currently rearranging and refocusing the free nutritious meal program to target residents in 3T regions as well as pregnant people, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers (3B group).
According to Nanik, the most effective nutritional intervention is carried out from pregnancy to primary school age, which will become the main focus of the program going forward.
Nanik stressed that BGN will concentrate on distributing MBG to these priority groups to ensure the program has an optimal impact. Additionally, BGN also calls for the utilization of existing community facilities to expand MBG services, especially in underdeveloped areas.
According to Nanik, a collaborative approach utilizing the available infrastructure and support from various parties will expedite the expansion of services without relying solely on the state budget.
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