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 1,258.
It 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, the programme has been marred by mass food poisoning incidents, prompting non-governmental organisations to call for authorities to suspend it due to health concerns. Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, Muhaimin Iskandar, stated that there are no plans to stop it.
Victims have reported symptoms including stomach aches, dizziness, nausea, and even shortness of breath, which is unusual for food poisoning. Previous cases of poisoning have been linked to negligent food preparation.
This week's victims consumed meals featuring soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, and fruit, but prior incidents included expired sauce and even fried shark.
Dadan Hindayana, head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency, indicated that the recent mass poisoning in Cipongkor resulted from a technical error by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit, which has since had its operations suspended.
Across the world, free meal programmes are known to enhance the health and academic performance of students. However, Indonesia's version has raised significant concerns regarding food safety. The programme, costing more than $10 billion this year, has attracted harsh criticism while attackers highlight its failure to address the real need for such initiatives.
Experts emphasize potential corruption risks with the management of such a large-scale programme, stating that the enormous budget makes it a target for corrupt practices.
