Fikes News Online, - The Public Health Study Program held a General Studium on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The topic discussed the 100-Day Free Nutritional Meal Program (MBG), organized by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as an effort to improve the nutritional status of schoolchildren towards achieving a golden Indonesia in 2045. The event took place in the MK Tajuddin Auditorium, Faculty of Health Sciences, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

The event was officially opened by the Vice Dean of FIKES UIN Jakarta, Dr. Apt. Nurmeilis, M.Si., who expressed his appreciation for the event and expressed his hope that it would provide in-depth insight into the importance of nutrition and open opportunities for participants to conduct research on the subject.

The general lecture was attended by Public Health students and the entire FIKES UIN Jakarta academic community, along with invited guests from the House of Representatives' Expert Staff and representatives from several partner community health centers within UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, including the Cirendeu, East Ciputat, Pisangan, and Ciputat, South Tangerang health centers.

This event featured two speakers: Prof. Abdul Razak Thaha, Professor of Public Health at Muhammadiyah University of Jakarta, and Ary Santoso, S. Stat, M.Sc., M.I. Pol, Expert Staff at the National Nutrition Agency.

The presentation was moderated by Baequni, PhD, a lecturer in the Public Health Study Program. The first speaker, Abdul Razak Thaha, explained that the outcome of providing Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) to elementary school children is one way to address the issue of malnutrition, namely stunting, a type of undernutrition. "However, there are other forms of malnutrition, such as micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition, which also threaten future nutritional problems for the community. The MBG program needs to learn from the experiences of countries with similar successes, such as Japan, Brazil, and India. Monitoring and evaluation, along with the involvement of various sectors, especially partners, are crucial to improving the coverage and outcomes of this healthy eating program, so that it can be even better in the future," he said.

The second speaker, Ary Santoso, presented material on the policy and implementation of the free nutritious meal program. In his presentation, Ary stated that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program is expected to reach more beneficiaries, especially children in elementary, junior high, and high schools, by increasing the number of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPGs) operating as public kitchens in 26 regions. "The results show that there has been an improvement in stunting rates since the program's launch. Although the numbers are still relatively small, we are optimistic that the program will improve further. Improvements have been made in various areas, such as increasing the number of SPPGs, partnering with various stakeholders and related institutions, and increasing the variety of MBG suppliers," he said.

The event also continued with a question and answer session with participants. The results concluded that students, as agents of change in public health, can play a role in assisting the government in ensuring the program's success, starting with educating the community about the benefits and promoting the MBG program in collaboration with the government.

At the conclusion of the event, a group photo was taken with the speakers, general stadium participants, and invited guests. (SRHL/ZR)