New head of Indonesia’s free meals programme quits after 45 days citing health reasons, as budget cuts loom
Nanik Sudaryati Deyang on Wednesday (Jul 22) said that she has a heart condition and that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has approved her resignation as head of the National Nutrition Agency.
Newly appointed National Nutrition Agency head Nanik Sudaryati Deyang (left) with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Nanik announced her resignation on Jul 22, 2026, citing health reasons. (Photo: Facebook/Naniek Sudaryati Deyang)
New: You can now listen to articles.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
JAKARTA: The newly appointed head of Indonesia’s National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which runs President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme, has resigned after 45 days in the role, with the initiative reportedly set to see further budget cuts.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Jul 22), Nanik Sudaryati Deyang said she was stepping down for health reasons, revealing that she has a heart condition and would be travelling overseas the same day to seek a second medical opinion.
“With a heavy heart, I bid farewell to the president to undergo treatment abroad for my heart. I plan to depart today, on Wednesday,” she said in her post.
Nanik said that her decision to seek medical treatment abroad was based on recommendations from colleagues and not due to a lack of trust in Indonesian doctors.
She added that Prabowo has approved her resignation and expressed concern for her condition, but asked her to continue overseeing the National Nutrition Agency.
“He asked me to continue overseeing BGN. It is likely that the president will establish a supervisory board, and I have been asked to serve as its chairman,” she said.
“If it’s just a matter of giving advice and keeping an eye on things, I can still do that, as long as it doesn’t involve handling money …. I’m traumatised by that,” she added.
Nanik assumed leadership of the agency last month following a high-profile corruption crackdown that saw its former head Dadan Hindayana sacked and arrested over allegations of fund misappropriation within the programme, along with two other deputies.
Nanik was the only deputy retained by Prabowo. She was inaugurated as the new agency head on Jun 8.
During her brief tenure, Nanik led a major overhaul of the programme infrastructure, evaluating nearly 28,000 community kitchens nationwide, establishing quality tiers for 3,000 facilities and halting expansion in oversaturated regions, state news agency Antara reported.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
In a statement on Wednesday, presidential special assistant Dirgayuza Setiawan said that Nanik’s reform initiatives had saved hundreds of billions of rupiah as she took action against 414 problematic kitchens, formed 11 internal reform teams and refocused the national food initiative towards vulnerable populations.
Her resignation comes as the flagship programme faces another round of budget cuts.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Indonesia had further reduced the programme’s budget to 229 trillion rupiah (US$12.81 billion) from 268 trillion rupiah, with senior officials of the agency saying that further cuts are possible.
The programme was originally allocated 335 trillion rupiah in 2026 with a target of reaching 83 million recipients by the end of the year but the budget has been gradually reduced in an effort to boost efficiency.
In June, Reuters reported that BGN was targeting a budget cut of more than US$2 billion, reducing the number of beneficiaries and kitchen operators.
In a press conference on Tuesday, the agency’s secretary Lili Khamiliyah said that Prabowo has given the agency a month to come up with the final budget figure following an internal review, adding that the 229 trillion rupiah cited was a provisional figure, with further room for efficiency measures.
“There will be … reduction in the number of beneficiaries. The president no longer targets a certain number, but he wants improvement in quality so that there is no more food poisoning,” Agustina Arumsari, deputy head of BGN, said at the same press conference.
The ambitious free meals programme was a key part of Prabowo’s campaign to win the presidency in 2024 to provide free meals daily to 83 million children and pregnant women across the sprawling archipelago.
It has come under scrutiny since its launch in January 2025.
Examples include reported links to cases of food poisoning that had affected at least 33,000 children as of April, according to Network for Education Watch, a non-governmental organisation.
In her statement on Wednesday, Nanik said that she will continue supporting Prabowo in the effort to improve people’s lives through the free nutritious meals programme.
“I will continue to fight for and support the president, who is currently working tirelessly to improve the lives of the Indonesian people,” she said.
“Having worked alongside him for 14 years, I know for certain that the Free Nutritious Meals programme was never intended for political purposes, contrary to what some people have alleged,” she added.
“It is genuinely designed as a nutritional intervention for children so they can grow into a ‘golden generation’ while also safeguarding their health.”
Source: CNA/ia(ao)
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
About The Author
