Indonesia to Launch 13,000 New Nutritional Meal Points

Indonesia is set to launch around 13,000 new nutritional meal points, a significant initiative aimed at combating stunting and improving public health. Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, signaled the government's commitment to opening these facilities, emphasizing a phased approach.

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For example, yes, Papua Pegunungan and Nusa Tenggara Timur, we will complete these this month.

The initial phase will focus on "3T" regions – disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost areas – that exhibit high stunting rates. Papua Pegunungan and Nusa Tenggara Timur are slated for priority completion within the current month. This targeted strategy reflects a commitment to addressing the most critical nutritional needs first.

For other regions, including Java and Sumatra, a more extensive evaluation period of up to two months is anticipated before operations can commence. Minister Zulkifli urged stakeholders to understand the phased rollout, discouraging premature demonstrations or demands for immediate opening.

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So, friends who are active in this field, if you read this announcement later, please understand, so don't come again or demonstrate again.

National Nutrition Agency Head Sudaryono confirmed that data on high stunting areas has been obtained from the Ministry of Health. The agency will prioritize the operationalization of meal points in these identified regions, ensuring that resources are directed effectively. The initiative underscores a national effort to improve child nutrition and development across Indonesia.

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We will prioritize based on that data, we check if a kitchen has indeed been built, we will immediately make it operational. So, in Papua, in NTT, including several areas on other islands, there are in Sumatra, there are some in Java, I saw earlier, that will be done soon.