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View all search resultsFormula milk inclusion in free meals program draws opposition
Baby formula, a processed food designed to supplement or substitute breast milk under certain conditions, can only be provided based on medical indications and doctors’ recommendations, according to the country’s pediatricians’ association.
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Volunteers give a meal package under the free nutritious meal program to a mother and her baby on May 5, 2026, in Surakarta, Central Java. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)
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ediatricians have urged the government to reassess the inclusion of formula milk for infants in the free nutritious meal program, warning the policy risks discouraging breastfeeding and contradicting existing health regulations limiting its use because of medical reasons.
In a letter addressed to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) dated Wednesday, the Indonesian Pediatric Society’s (IDAI) Breastfeeding Task Force warned that unrestricted formula milk distribution could keep mothers from breastfeeding, which has lasting consequences on infant health.
“Breast milk is not merely food,” the IDAI wrote on its official Instagram page. “It contains hundreds to thousands of bioactive components that work to protect the baby.”
The association cited the 2023 Health Law and Government Regulation (PP) No. 28/2024, which stipulates that formula milk should only be provided based on medical indications and doctors’ recommendations.
The IDAI further urged the government to harmonize the nutrition policies of the BGN and the Health Ministry while also pushing for a review of the free meals program’s technical guidelines to make sure it is aligned with national regulations and World Health Organization standards
“Our children need breast milk. We must not let our policies today deprive them of something so important,” the association went on to say.
Read also: Prabowo vows to fix problems in free meals program amid governance concerns
