One of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs in Indonesia is initiating a free nutritious lunch (MBG) program for elementary and middle-school students. The policy has drawn sharp criticism due to the cost.
Based on a 2017 report from the World Food Programme (WFP), school lunch provisions contribute to the achievement of the world’s sustainable development goals.
School meal programs such as MBG can contribute to zero hunger, increased participation and learning ability, and gender equality. WFP research states that school meal programs can have a direct impact on children, improving nutrition, health and education levels. That direct impact would then have a further impact on poverty reduction, inequality and economic improvement.
Based on the WFP economic model, every dollar of the budget invested in school would bring US$3 to US$10 in calculated economic return from improved health, education and productivity.
Developed countries in East Asia, such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, have been implementing school meals programs for decades. Taiwan has implemented a nutritious lunch program in schools since 1982. Taiwan’s experience can provide positive input to improve similar programs in Indonesia.
First, the free (fully subsidized) nutritious meal program in Taiwan is only provided to financially distressed students, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, remote and rural areas, or those residing in specific government-designated areas. For students without economic difficulties, the Taiwanese government subsidizes the cost of the student’s lunch.
Indonesia offers free nutritious lunches to all students, which has drawn criticism from the public due to the cost. Indonesia can revise the free nutritious meal policy to a nutritious meal for students that shares the burden between the government and parents. The free-of-charge policy should only be given to poor, economically disadvantaged students, and students in remote areas.
Second, Taiwan deploys a technology called cloud GPS positioning and tracking that monitors food delivery routes, timing and temperatures, not only to ensure the timeliness of food delivery, but also to check food sources and safety. The use of this technology enhances transparency in managing students’ nutritious meal programs.
The program implementers in Indonesia, such as the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG), can deploy advanced technology to monitor food temperatures, GPS for logistics management and food delivery, and other information systems that can be monitored by policymakers.
Third, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has established standards for the nutritional content of school lunches and has also created a publicly accessible online platform where anyone can view the daily menus in detail. Non-governmental organizations and the public can see the menu served in each school every day as a public oversight space. Furthermore, the nonprofit Douceur Network partners with Taiwan’s education ministry to conduct research on school lunch policies in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. The institution also hosts various workshops, academics, and public forums to discuss program improvements.
Indonesia could draw the lesson for better public supervision. Transparency of the school lunch program will allow for a discourse that is expected to provide room for program improvement. Among them is the supervision of the budget, menu and food safety, which can ultimately have an impact on the support and contribution from various parties to make this program a success.
Finally, Indonesia should open up space for dialogue and cooperation with countries and world organizations such as the WFP, to support the success of the program. Indonesia needs to admit that the country still lacks experience in managing nutritious school lunch programs. It should therefore build partnerships with other countries and organizations to absorb good practices and lessons learned in the implementation of similar programs.
That can also give the impression that it is not only Indonesia that implements a nutritious meal program in schools, but also other developed countries such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Taiwan itself has conducted several school lunch exchange programs with Japan leading to the term school-lunch diplomacy.
In addition, the BGN and SPPG in Indonesia need to start using information and communications technology to ensure timeliness, food safety and transparency. Indonesia also needs to open cooperation and dialogue with various partners to ensure that its nutritious lunch program adopts the same standards on a par with that in developed countries.
Raden Mokhamad Luthfi is a doctoral candidate in international relations at National Chengchi University and deputy chairman of the Indonesian Student Association in Taiwan.
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