Jakarta. The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has requested an additional Rp118 trillion ($7.3 billion) to fund President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meals program, but lawmakers say they will review the proposal before approving the funds.

Since early January, Indonesia has been rolling out nutrient-rich meals to schoolchildren and pregnant women to fight malnutrition. The program now feeds around 4.89 million people daily, and Prabowo is confident it will reach the target of 82.9 million by the end of November. To support the scale-up, the government has raised the annual budget from Rp 71 trillion to Rp 171 trillion. As of June 12, the Finance Ministry reported that Rp 4.4 trillion had been spent on the program.

Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IX, Yahya Zaini, said the DPR would hold discussions with BGN to examine the details of the proposed additional funding before making a decision.

“We will review this thoroughly before making any decision. This is part of the DPR’s budget oversight and monitoring function,” Yahya said in a statement on Monday.

Yahya warned that the additional budget could become wasteful if the program focuses solely on distributing free meals without addressing deeper nutrition challenges. He emphasized that the MBG program should help tackle nutrition and health issues, particularly in Indonesia’s remote areas.

“The MBG program is a noble initiative, but such a large budget should not only be used to distribute meals. It should also aim to transform consumption patterns, improve local food supply chains, and raise public awareness about balanced nutrition,” he said.

If lawmakers approve BGN’s funding request, Yahya said the program should become the starting point for reforming Indonesia’s nutrition system.

“It should serve as the starting point for a comprehensive reform of Indonesia’s fragile, fragmented, and short-term-oriented nutrition system,” he said.

BGN Head Dadan Hindayana made the funding request during a hearing with Commission IX on July 10, stating the funds are needed to support the program’s target of reaching 82.9 million beneficiaries.

Dadan said the program’s funding needs could reach Rp 25 trillion per month next year to ensure effective implementation of President Prabowo’s signature program.