More than 1,000 children get sick from free school lunches

According to the authorities, more than 1,000 children have become ill of free school lunches in Indonesia, the latest in a series of massive food poisoning events linked to the multimillion -dollar nutritional food program of President Pabowo Subánto.

Yuyun Sarihotima, head of the health center of the Cipongkor community of West Java, told the BBC Indonesia that the total number of poisoning victims registered between Monday and Wednesday had reached 1,258.

Follow the poisoning of 800 students last week in the provinces of West Java and Central Sulawesi.

President Prabowo has carried out the Nutritious Meals Program, which aims to offer free lunch to 80 million children at school, a signature of his leadership.

But a series of massive food poisoning incidents has led non -governmental organizations to ask the authorities to suspend the program due to health concerns.

Muhaimin Iskandar, community empowerment coordinating minister on Wednesday that “there are no plans to stop it.”

The victims of the recent outbreaks complained about stomach pains, dizziness and nausea, as well as lack of breath, which is a non -typical symptom of food poisoning.

In previous cases of food poisoning derived from the free lunch program, the negligent food preparation has been cited as a suspicious cause.

This week’s victims ate meals that included chicken with soy sauce, fried tofu, vegetables and fruits, but past poisoning incidents have been linked to the expired sauce and, in one case, the fried shark portion.

The head of the National Nutrition Agency of Indonesia (BGG), Dadan Hondayana, said Wednesday that the massive food poisoning in Cipongkor last week was the result of a technical error of the Nutritional Compliance Service Unit (SPPG).

According to reports, SPPG operations in Cipongkor have been suspended, according to BGG.

West Bandung’s regent, hehe Ismail ritchie, said his party had declared mass poisoning in Cipongkor “an extraordinary event so that the management is faster and more complete.”

Cipongkor is where the first suspicious case of the mass poisoning of this week occurred on Monday, with the number of victims that rapidly increased to about 475 students.

On Wednesday, another mass poisoning in Cipongkor saw that up to 500 students became ill after consuming free lunches.

The BGN reported that from January to September 22, there were 4,711 cases of free school lunch poisoning. Most cases occurred on the island of Java.

However, the Indonesian education monitoring network reported a higher figure (JPPI). This NGO recorded that as of September 21, the number of poisoning victims had increased to 6,452 children.

“This abnormal situation should require the government to declare an outbreak and temporarily stop the program for an exhaustive evaluation,” said JPPI National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji.

Some have requested changes in the scheme, including a proposal that the funds are distributed directly to the parents so that they can prepare meals for their children. The BGN has previously rejected this idea.

Throughout the world, programs that offer free meals to students have proven to be effective in improving health, academic performance and assistance.

But the version of $ 28 billion of Indonesia (£ 21 billion), with the configuration of being the most expensive of its kind, has become the growing objective of food security concerns and heated anti -government protests.

A centerpiece of the Pabowo presidential campaign last year, the free meal program was presented as a way of addressing the delay in delay, a condition caused by malnutrition that affects a fifth of children under five years in Indonesia.

“Through this initiative, our children will grow more and emerge as champions,” Pabowo said in 2023.

Since he assumed the position last October, this program, together with other populist policies such as new houses and free medical check -ups, have won him political points. Their approval classifications were at 80% after their first 100 days in power.

In the first phase, which began in January, free school meals have reached 550,000 students in 26 provinces.

While the program is “well intentionally”, Maria Monica Wihardja, a visiting member of the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, previously told the BBC that there has been no “evidence” of “generalized urgency” for free school meals.

According to a national survey in 2024, less than 1% of Indonesian households were at least one day without meals in the last year.

The cost of the program has not helped things.

Indonesia has reserved more than $ 10 billion this year for free school meals.

In comparison, India spends $ 1.5 billion a year to feed 120 million children in what is the largest program in the world. Brazil’s version costs almost the same and serves about 40 million students.

Program defenders have argued that it has been approved and secured in the state budget 2026 has already last.

But experts have warned that their colossal cost could also lead to other concerns.

The large -scale social assistance programs in Indonesia have historically been “plagued by corruption,” Muhammad Rafi Bakri, research analyst at the Indonesian Audit Board, told the BBC.

“Given the size of the budget,” he said, “this program is a gold mine for corrupt officials.”

With report reproduced with Koh Ewes ad Hana Samosirians