Jakarta, Oct. 2 -- Indonesia's Health Ministry will measure the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program's impact on beneficiaries through a national nutrition survey and biannual height and weight checks, officials said Thursday.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the monitoring is intended to gauge the effectiveness of the policy and will complement data from the Free Health Checkup (CKG) program, which promotes screening and early detection of disease.

He said nutrition surveys, previously conducted annually to track stunting prevalence, will now expand to include school-aged children over five.

"This will allow us to track the nutritional development of our children," Sadikin said.

The minister added that the findings will provide...