President Prabowo Subianto reaffirmed that the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program has achieved a very high success rate, despite a few isolated food poisoning incidents in the field.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 521 students at the Indonesian National University (UKRI) in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday, October 18, 2025, Prabowo emphasized the program’s overall effectiveness.
“Out of 1.4 billion meals distributed, there were about 8,000 food poisoning cases. Statistically, that’s around 0.0007 or 0.0008 percent, meaning this program is 99.99 percent successful,” Prabowo said.
He criticized what he described as disproportionate criticism from some quarters who highlight isolated cases while overlooking the program’s wide-reaching benefits.
“So far, a few thousand children experienced stomach aches or food poisoning, but that’s what gets magnified − as if the entire program should be stopped,” he remarked.
According to Prabowo, the MBG program has so far benefited 36.2 million recipients, with 1.4 billion meal portions distributed across Indonesia. He reiterated his administration’s commitment to continuously improve the program’s quality and safety to better serve students nationwide, particularly in remote and underprivileged regions.
“We will keep refining this program so it becomes even safer and more beneficial for our young generation,” Prabowo said.
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