Indonesia has launched a $45 billion nationwide free meal program aimed at providing nutritious meals to 82.9 million people by 2029. The program will initially focus on school children and pregnant women. Critics argue the program is financially unsustainable and could strain the country's fiscal health.
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00:00This is what one dollar gets you in Indonesia.
00:06Permisi, makan apa?
00:08Makan nasi, rice, daging sapi, beef, carrot, jeruk, and a mandarin as well.
00:19Bagaimana rasanya?
00:21Enak.
00:22Enak, delicious, she says.
00:23So this is the first week of the government's free lunch or free nutrition program.
00:29They're rolling out about 550 of these meals at this one school alone.
00:35Across the country it's about 600,000 meals.
00:39Eventually they want to ramp this up to more than 80 million meals
00:44for school children across Indonesia as well as pregnant mothers every single day.
00:53Our children don't really bring their own food from home.
00:56Their parents are mid to low income so the kids only have a little bit of pocket money
01:01to spend on chicken porridge, instant noodles, or some sweet drinks.
01:05With this program they'll finally have enough nutrients.
01:09So this program is being very well received in the first week.
01:13Certainly everybody here is behind the goal of trying to reduce malnutrition
01:18and reduce growth stunting in Indonesia.
01:21But there are some economists who are raising doubts about how sustainable this is.
01:27Can the government really continue to serve millions and millions of decent meals every day
01:34at a cost of just $1 each, particularly as the program expands further.
01:39But for now the children's bellies are full.
01:42They say the food is relatively tasty.
01:45So this free lunch program is off to a good start.
01:51For more UN videos visit www.un.org