Bill Gates arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday to discuss health and sustainable development initiatives with the leader of the world’s fourth most populous country.
Gates met President Prabowo Subianto at the colonial-style Merdeka palace in Jakarta. They planned to discuss global health, nutrition, financial inclusion and public digital infrastructure, Indonesia’s presidential office said in a statement ahead of the meeting.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands sprawled across three time zones with a population of more than 280 million, launched an ambitious project this year to fight malnutrition that aims to feed nearly 90 million children and pregnant women. The program is expected to cost 450 trillion rupiah ($28 billion) through 2029 and critics question whether it is affordable.
On Monday, Subianto said his meeting with Gates would focus on Gates’ support for Indonesia’s Free Nutritious Meals, known in Indonesia as the MBG program, a flagship initiative of his administration aimed at improving child nutrition and reducing poverty.
During his first in-person visit to the Indonesian capital, Gates is also scheduled to visit a primary school in eastern Jakarta where more than 500 students were taking part of the program.
The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that one in 12 Indonesian children younger than 5 suffers from low weight, while one in five is shorter than normal. Both conditions are caused by malnourishment.
Subianto's program has drawn criticism from investors and analysts over the scale of its logistics, the burden on state finances and the economy, and its relation to the interests of industrial lobby groups.
