Indonesia’s free meals programme plagued by alleged corruption and waste

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s signature escaped meals programme is escalating into 1 of Indonesia’s biggest corruption scandals successful years arsenic officials conflict to rein successful the $15bn inaugural amid allegations of graft and mismanagement.

Launched successful 2025, the “Free Nutritious Meals” programme aims to code the chronic contented of stunting among children, amended their absorption successful school, and stimulate the section economy.

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Indonesia astir halved the prevalence of stunting implicit the past decennary to astir 20 percent of children nationwide, according to the World Bank, but it remains stubbornly precocious successful galore of the archipelago’s eastbound provinces and outer islands.

Over the past 18 months, the programme has rolled retired astir 28,000 kitchens, each supplying schools and communities with up to 3,000 meals a day.

Critics accidental the programme is excessively ample and unwieldy to beryllium effective, portion the inaugural has besides been plagued by thousands of cases of nutrient poisoning.

The inaugural has besides drawn planetary scrutiny since authorities arrested the caput of Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency and 2 of his deputies successful aboriginal June for alleged procurement fraud amounting to $56m.

Authorities person since expanded their investigations to 7 people, including an active-duty constabulary serviceman and a subject officer.

After spending $2.8bn getting the programme disconnected the crushed successful 2025, the authorities successful May chopped this year’s fund from $18.4bn to $14.7bn pursuing a directive from Prabowo to usage funds “more efficaciously and efficiently”.

But critics similar Ronny Sasmita, a elder expert astatine the Indonesia Strategic and Economic Action Institution, a Jakarta-based deliberation tank, accidental that Indonesia cannot spend adjacent a downsized mentation of the scheme, which is being partially funded by spending reallocated from the wellness and acquisition budgets.

Worse, Samsmita said, the authorities has created a monolithic accidental for corruption.

“From an economical governance perspective, the alleged corruption successful the ‘Free Nutritious Meals’ programme stands retired arsenic 1 of the astir important cases Indonesia has seen successful caller years, some successful standard and systemic impact,” Sasmita told Al Jazeera.

“What makes it peculiarly striking is not lone the size of the fund involved, fixed that the programme is designed arsenic a nationwide societal intervention, but besides the breadth of its implementation crossed regions, which creates aggregate introduction points for leakages,” helium said.

Members of a schoolhouse committee administer meals to students during the motorboat of President Prabowo Subianto’s ambitious escaped repast programme astatine an simple schoolhouse successful Depok, West Java, Indonesia, connected January 6, 2025 [File: Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]

While kitchens established nether the programme are funded by the government, they are operated franchise-style by a web of foundations alternatively than done schoolhouse canteens.

Some of these foundations person ties to the constabulary and military, according to the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), an Indonesian deliberation vessel that has conducted aggregate studies connected the programme.

Kitchen operators besides person “daily inducement fees” of 6 cardinal rupiah ($324), described by the since-arrested nutrition bureau main arsenic tokens of “appreciation from the authorities to partners who person sacrificed to physique the facilities.”

At slightest 18,000 kitchens, much than fractional of the programme’s facilities, are located connected Java, Indonesia’s wealthiest and astir populous island, according to section media reports.

Meanwhile, astir 270 kitchens were established successful some eastbound Papua, location to six provinces with immoderate of Indonesia’s highest stunting rates, and Bali, the state with the lowest stunting rate.

Surplus kitchens

“The astir isolated, the poorest areas, the areas with the astir stunting programmes are the lowest performing programmes,” said Annette Mau, a subordinate of the Indonesian Mothers Alliance, which is among the civilian nine groups monitoring the escaped meals programme.

“Why walk nationalist wealth feeding children from affluent households erstwhile immoderate children inactive look nutrient insecurity? This is the biggest argumentation plan issue,” Mau told Al Jazeera.

Critics besides instrumentality contented with the kitchens feeding children of each ages done precocious school, though interventions against stunting are astir effectual successful large and nursing women and successful toddlers.

According to authorities data, large women and toddlers made up conscionable 5 percent of the 25.78 cardinal recipients reached betwixt January and September 2025.

The programme’s representation has besides been marred by thousands of cases of nutrient poisoning, which reached 33,000 arsenic of April 2026, according to the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network.

Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan told a media briefing successful June that the programme was operating astir 7,000 surplus kitchens, with inducement fees for these other facilities unsocial costing the authorities a trillion rupiah ($54m) per month.

He besides alleged that operating permits whitethorn person been bought and sold by operators, starring to the fig of kitchens swelling beyond demand.

Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency and Prabowo’s bureau did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

A lad looks astatine a repast provided via a escaped meals programme successful Jakarta, Indonesia, connected January 10, 2025 [File: Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]

Vid Adrison, caput of the economics section astatine the University of Indonesia, said civilian nine groups person suggested that the authorities could prevention wealth by utilizing existing infrastructure, specified arsenic schoolhouse canteens.

“Every schoolhouse has their canteen, and they already hole meals according to the preferences of students,” Adrison told Al Jazeera.

“Why not conscionable optimise the existing schools alternatively of creating caller kitchens?”

Officials person flagged changes amid the disapproval of the rollout.

Last month, the National Nutrition Agency said it would hole a peculiar strategy targeting mothers and toddlers successful the “underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost areas” of Indonesia. known arsenic the “3T Regions.”

Another $2.2bn could soon beryllium connected the chopping artifact arsenic the authorities moves to further downsize the programme.

Changes are besides being made to the “incentives scheme,” according to section media, though details person yet to beryllium released.

Prabowo, meanwhile, has continued to support his flagship programme arsenic a occurrence story.

“Ask the farmers and fishermen. Ask the children. Is [the programme] indispensable oregon not?” Prabowo said during a code past month, according to Indonesia’s Antara quality agency.

“Some intelligent radical accidental determination are things much urgent than an bare stomach. I bash not deliberation determination is thing much urgent than an bare stomach,” helium said.

“If a bare person’s tummy is not filled immediately, past they volition die.”