More than 1,000 children have fallen ill from free school lunches in Indonesia this week, according to authorities – the latest in a string of mass food poisoning events linked to President Prabowo Subianto's multi-billion-dollar nutritious meals programme.
Yuyun Sarihotima, head of West Java's Cipongkor Community Health Center, told BBC Indonesia that the total number of poisoning victims recorded between Monday and Wednesday had reached 1,171.
This follows the poisoning of 800 students last week in West Java and Central Sulawesi provinces.
President Prabowo has made the nutritious meals programme – which aims to offer free lunches to 80 million school children – a signature of his leadership.
However, a spate of mass food poisoning incidents has led non-governmental organizations to demand an immediate suspension of the programme due to health concerns.
Muhaimin Iskandar, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, stated on Wednesday that there are no plans to stop it.
Victims of the recent outbreaks complained of stomach aches, dizziness, and nausea – as well as shortness of breath, which is not a typical symptom of food poisoning.
Previous cases of food poisoning linked to this free lunch programme have cited negligent food preparation as a suspected cause, with this week's victims consuming meals that included soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, and fruit.
The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, attributed the mass food poisoning in Cipongkor last week to a technical error by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG).
According to the National Narcotics Agency (BGN), from January to 22 September, there were 4,711 cases of free school lunch poisoning, primarily occurring on the island of Java. The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) reported an even higher figure, with 6,452 children affected.
Cipongkor was the site of the first suspected case of this week's mass poisoning, with numbers quickly increasing from 475 children on Monday to about 500 on Wednesday.
Defenders of the free meals program argue it has been approved and secured in the already-passed 2026 State Budget, despite concerns about the high level of spending, which exceeds $10 billion this year.
This costly initiative, touted as a solution to childhood malnutrition and stunting, has been met with rising health concerns and protests as the government faces accusations of negligence and ineffectiveness.
