Calls for a temporary halt in President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme across Indonesia continue to mount after more than 1,300 students recently fell ill from consuming food distributed under the initiative.
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Officials have pledged to strengthen oversight but maintain that the programme – designed to combat child stunting and improve nutrition among vulnerable groups – will continue.
Analysts and civil society groups warn that the government’s push to expand the programme rapidly could cause further harm unless food safety, supervision and delivery systems are quickly improved.
As of Thursday, 1,333 students in West Bandung Regency in West Java fell ill after eating meals from the programme, which aims to serve 82.9 million schoolchildren, toddlers, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers by 2026.
It is the biggest mass food poisoning case tied to the programme since its launch in January with a budget of 71 trillion rupiah (US$4.2 billion). This month alone, other incidents have also been reported in West Sulawesi, where two students were reportedly in critical condition, Sumbawa and Banggai Island in Central Sulawesi.
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In Bandung, parents said that they warned their children not to eat the free meals, as mass food poisoning had been reported in the area.