November 4, 2025 | 08:46 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf has proposed expanding the government’s flagship Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to include the elderly and people with disabilities.
The proposal was presented to President Prabowo Subianto during a limited meeting on social assistance empowerment at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
“God willing, if everything goes well, free nutritious meals for the elderly and people with disabilities will be provided next year,” said Saifullah Yusuf, also known as Gus Ipul.
Gus Ipul explained that the new initiative would transform the existing program previously focused solely on school children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is currently finalizing the proposal and refining recipient data to ensure the program reaches eligible beneficiaries. “We are targeting approximately 100,000 elderly people and over 30,000 people with disabilities,” he said.
The MBG program, a flagship initiative of President Prabowo, already operates across the country. As of October 29, 2025, there are 13,514 Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPGs) spread across 38 provinces, 509 districts, and 7,022 sub-districts.
According to the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, the program has the capacity to serve 39.5 million people, with projections to reach 40 million by the end of the month.
Budget absorption for the MBG program has reached 50.1 percent, totaling Rp 35.6 trillion, Dadan said. He expressed optimism that the program will meet its year-end target of 82.9 million beneficiaries.
“We are continuously pursuing our targets, and we hope to serve 82.9 million beneficiaries by the end of the year,” he added.
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