Politics
Why Indonesia cannot afford to scrap Prabowo’s free meals programme
Key Points
Indonesia has vowed to overhaul the country’s ambitious free nutritious meals programme following public pressure and recent allegations of corruption – a move analysts described as a “moderate” concession in lieu of an “embarrassing” discontinuation of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship initiative. The US$15 billion initiative aims to reach 83 million schoolchildren, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers to prevent malnutrition and stunted growth. However, it has been...
Indonesia has vowed to overhaul the country’s ambitious free nutritious meals programme following public pressure and recent allegations of corruption – a move analysts described as a “moderate” concession in lieu of an “embarrassing” discontinuation of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship initiative.
The US$15 billion initiative aims to reach 83 million schoolchildren, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers to prevent malnutrition and stunted growth. However, it has been dogged by...