JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s massive free meals program is facing more turbulence after the head of the National Nutrition Agency resigned Wednesday, just 45 days into the job. Nanik S. Deyang cited health concerns as her reason for leaving, though her sudden exit raises new questions about the future of the already embattled initiative.
Deyang had been inaugurated in early June after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto dismissed her predecessor, Dadan Hindayana, over his alleged involvement in a corruption case tied to the program. Hindayana was arrested shortly after being removed from the position.
The free meals program was designed to fulfill a major campaign promise by President Prabowo Subianto, with the goal of combating malnutrition by providing meals to nearly 90 million children and pregnant women across the country. However, the program has faced sharp criticism over its steep costs, reported cases of food poisoning among schoolchildren, and the ongoing corruption allegations surrounding it.
Deyang announced her resignation through a Facebook post, explaining that she must travel abroad to receive treatment for a heart condition. In a statement Wednesday, she described her conversation with the president: “I also conveyed to the president with my deepest apologies that it seemed I would have to step down as Head of the National Nutrition Agency, for the sake of my health, and because the president was concerned and sympathetic toward me, he agreed, though he asked that I continue to help oversee the agency.”
During the brief 45 days Deyang led the agency, the government moved to scale back the program’s annual budget, cutting it from 268 trillion rupiah — roughly $15 billion — down to 229 trillion rupiah, or approximately $12 billion.
The agency has stated that it conducted a review of who receives the free nutritious meals, stressing that its current priority is not simply about reducing spending, but rather about making the program’s distribution more efficient and better targeted to those who need it most.
