More than 1,000 children have fallen ill from free school lunches in Indonesia this week, according to authorities – marking the latest occurrence in a series of mass food poisoning events linked to President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious multi-billion-dollar nutritious meals programme.
Yuyun Sarihotima, head of West Java's Cipongkor Community Health Center, informed BBC Indonesia that the total number of poisoning victims recorded between Monday and Wednesday was 1,258. This follows an incident the previous week where 800 students in West Java and Central Sulawesi provinces were affected.
President Prabowo has championed the nutritious meals programme, which aims to provide free lunches to 80 million schoolchildren, as one of his key initiatives during his presidency.
However, the spate of food poisoning cases has led numerous non-governmental organizations to advocate for the suspension of the programme due to notable health concerns. Despite this, Muhaimin Iskandar, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, indicated on Wednesday that there are “no plans to stop it.”
Victims have reported symptoms including stomach aches, dizziness, nausea, and atypical symptoms such as shortness of breath. Previous food poisoning incidents attributed to the program have highlighted negligent food preparation as a probable cause.
The recent meals consumed by students included soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, and fruit. Past incidents have been linked to expired sauces and, notably, servings of fried shark.
The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, stated that the latest food poisoning in Cipongkor was reportedly due to a technical error by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG), which has now been suspended.
Cipongkor experienced the first suspected poisoning case of this week's outbreak on Monday, which rapidly escalated to 475 victims. Following this, another incident on Wednesday saw another 500 students affected after consuming free lunches.
In total, from January to September 22, there have been 4,711 reported cases of food poisoning caused by the free school lunch programme, largely concentrated on the island of Java. Contrarily, the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) has recorded 6,452 poisoning victims by September 21.
Ubaid Matraji, JPPI National Coordinator, asserts that the ongoing situation necessitates a government declaration of an outbreak and a temporary halt to the programme for thorough assessment.
Some stakeholders have proposed a system where funds are given directly to parents for meal preparation instead of a centralised free meal program, although this idea has previously faced rejection by the BGN.
While globally, free meals have been established as beneficial for students' health and academic success, Indonesia's implementation, valued at $28 billion, has become the focus of food safety issues and rising anti-government sentiment.
Defenders of the initiative point to its approval within the already-passed 2026 State Budget, yet experts warn about the potential for corruption in handling such a significant budget.
Maria Monica Wihardja, a visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, earlier pointed out the lack of substantial evidence supporting the urgent need for widespread free meals. A national survey in 2024 indicated that less than 1% of households faced food insecurity.
Indonesia allocated over $10 billion for this year's program, contrasting with India's annual expenditure of $1.5 billion serving 120 million children. Given the considerable budget, there are concerns about the potential for widespread corruption within the implementation of these initiatives.
