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Can the school meal program address stunting in Indonesia?

Rigorous evaluation on the potential impacts of the proposed school meal program is essential to ensuring its effectiveness as regards the desired outcomes, regardless of whether it directly addresses Indonesia's stunting prevalence.

Melinda Mastan (The Jakarta Post)
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Boston, United States
Sat, July 20, 2024

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Can the school meal program address stunting in Indonesia?  Students line up on March 5, 2024 to take part in a free school lunch pilot program at SMPN 1 Darul Imarah state junior high school in Aceh Besar, Aceh, which provided nutritious meals at a per portion cost of Rp 15,000 (less than US$1). (Antara/Ampelsa)

S

ince 2018, reducing stunting has been a national priority in Indonesia. The latest Indonesian health survey indicates an overall decrease in stunting prevalence among children under 5 (21.6 percent) and a slight improvement in adolescents’ nutritional status, except for an increase in overweight cases among children aged 5-12 years old (11.9 percent) and 13-15 years (12.1 percent).

In response, president-elect Prabowo Subianto has proposed a free meal program to address the persistent stunting issue. Many people are questioning if the program is the right approach to address stunting.

Since stunting intervention typically focuses on the first 1,000 days of life, a free lunch program that mostly targets school-age children appears somewhat misdirected. Indeed, expecting the school meal program to single-handedly resolve the country’s stunting issue is too ambitious.

However, its potential impact will remain uncertain until it is evaluated. It might not just address stunting issue, but also potentially work for a range of health and developmental outcomes for Indonesian children.

The school meal program, whether free or subsidized, has a long-standing global history of almost a century. Currently, 87 percent of countries around the world have a school meal policy in place, benefiting around 418 million children.

Widely recognized as an essential tool to fight hunger and food insecurity, the program has consistently proven its effectiveness in improving school attendance, education attainment and beneficiaries’ nutritional status. The school meal program is considered one of the largest and most widespread social safety nets, addressing various socioeconomic challenges from social protection and education to health.

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Indonesia implemented a school meal program in 2016-2019 under a collaboration between the Education and Culture Ministry and the World Food Programme (WFP). The result was very promising, as every US$1 invested in the school meal program was projected to generate returns of $6.2 over a beneficiary’s lifetime.

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