Multiple Indonesian Ministries Join JICA’s Country Focused Training in Tokyo and Nagasaki: “Promoting Healthy Growth of Children through Shokuiku”

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Republic of Indonesia, invited representatives from multiple ministries to join an training on school meal program including “shokuiku” (food and nutrition education) from 3-12 September, 2024 in Tokyo and Nagasaki.

This training showcased Japan's century-long expertise in promoting healthy eating habits among children through nutritious school meals. Nine participants from the various ministries and organizations attended the training such as Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Ministry of Religious Affairs, National Development Agency, National Food Agency, as well as nutrition-specific organizations such as Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization - Regional Centre for Food and Nutrition (SEAMEO-RECFON), and Indonesia Food Security Review (IFSR).

The training was divided in two parts; the Tokyo part, where participants learned about national-level school meal system and policies, and the Nagasaki part, where participants gained hands-on experience by directly observing the implementation of school meal in an elementary school, and visited various sites that supported the school meal system in Japan.

As shokuiku in Japan is a multi-sector collaboration, the participants received a diverse array of lectures, ranging from nutrition teacher system, the role of city health center in school meal, school meal management and human resources, and procuring local production for local consumption. They also visited many sites relevant to school meal system in both Tokyo and Nagasaki, such as school lunch centers, urban farms, and dairy cooperatives, providing a comprehensive views of Japan’s school meal ecosystems.

The training’s significance was underscored by the participation of four high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Health, National Development Agency, and the newly established National Nutrition Agency in Nagasaki.

“Improving nutrition of children is a key component to national development,” said Okamura Kenji, Senior Representative of JICA Indonesia Office, who also came to Nagasaki for the occasion. “Japan has over a century of experience in addressing nutrition issues on schoolchildren. We will be happy to offer knowledge, best practice, and support on how to adapt those into the unique circumstances of Indonesia.”

With this training being the first of several to come, JICA hope to continue to support Indonesia in their efforts to address nutritional challenges in schoolchildren, support their education, and contribute to overall child development in the country.