Papua ToT: Balanced Nutrition and Food Safety for a Healthy, Intelligent Generation

Jayapura, 14–16 October 2025 – To accelerate improvements in national nutrition and support the success of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme, regional training of trainers (ToT) was held for Papua. The intensive three-day activity at Hotel Horison Ultima Entrop, Jayapura, was an important step towards ensuring programme quality in eastern Indonesia.

The Need for Sustained Intervention in Papua

MBG is a National Strategic Project (PSN) addressing critical nutrition challenges in Indonesia, including stunting (19.8%), wasting (7.4%), and anaemia among school-age children (16.3%) and pregnant women (27.7%). The success of this wide-reaching programme depends heavily on the quality of regional implementation.

The Papua Regional ToT aimed to strengthen the capacity of 71 participants: provincial facilitators from health offices, education offices, BPOM, DLHK, Poltekkes Jayapura, Universitas Cenderawasih, PERSAGI Papua, BGN regional leadership in Papua, SPPG Jayapura and Gapai. These regional facilitators were prepared to lead tiered training (cascading) at district and city levels.

Three Pillars of Regional Training

Using adult learning and simulation-based approaches, the training focused on three main pillars to support comprehensive MBG implementation:

1. Nutrition Standards and Food Safety at SPPG: Mastering modules to safeguard meal quality at Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG). Topics included personal hygiene, equipment sanitation, vector control, food distribution and food safety incident handling. Practical simulations included portioning meals and weighing food waste.
2. Programme Management in Education Units: Strengthening school-level MBG governance, including distribution quality assurance, appropriate meal times, monitoring and activity reporting by teachers, education personnel and school health teams (UKS).
3. Nutrition Education and Behaviour Development: Equipping facilitators to support teachers in integrating nutrition education, from early childhood education (PAUD) to senior secondary school (SMA), into curricula and daily routines. This aims to establish lasting healthy behaviours, including the practice of “Five Minutes of Education Before Eating”.

Cross-Sector Collaboration to Support the Programme

The activity was formally opened by distinguished guests, who emphasised the importance of cross-sector collaboration for successful MBG implementation in Papua.

• During the opening session, Prof. Dr. Drajat Martianto, Chair of the Implementation Team of Center of Excellence Pemenuhan Gizi Nasional (CoE-PGN) and Head of IPB University’s International Research Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, delivered remarks online. He emphasised that MBG’s success depends on nutritious food availability and a well-run delivery system and skilled workforce, including facilitators who understand local contexts.
• Meanwhile, Mr. Aminuddin Muhammad Ramdan, Head of UNICEF Papua Field Office, underlined UNICEF’s commitment to supporting capacity building and local adaptation of MBG in Papua, particularly in reaching vulnerable groups and sustaining school nutrition services.
• Matias Benoni Mano, S.Par., M.KP, Expert Adviser on Community Empowerment and Culture to the Papua Provincial Government, also gave remarks. He emphasised involving local governments in supporting SPPG kitchens as social infrastructure that advances children’s health and regional food security.
• The final remarks were delivered online by Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Suardi Samiran, S.Sos., M.M., Deputy for Provision and Distribution at Badan Gizi Nasional. He emphasised cross-sector coordination to ensure that MBG meets national nutrition and food safety standards.

Impact and Academic Commitment

Participants completing the training were declared competent as Papua Regional Facilitators. Cascading training is expected to transfer knowledge and technical skills effectively to SPPG food handlers and school programme implementers, helping the 30,000 SPPG units targeted for 2025 serve safe and nutritious meals.