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.
It follows the poisoning of 800 students last week in West Java and Central Sulawesi provinces.
President Prabowo has made the nutritious meals programme a signature of his leadership, which aims to offer free lunches to 80 million school children, but a spate of mass food poisoning incidents has led nongovernmental organizations to call for authorities to suspend the programme due to health concerns.
Muhaimin Iskandar, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, said on Wednesday that there are no plans to stop it.
The victims complained of stomach aches, dizziness, and nausea – and some experienced shortness of breath, an atypical symptom of food poisoning. Previous cases of food poisoning linked to the programme have cited negligent food preparation as a likely cause.
This week's victims ate meals that included soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, and fruit – but past poisoning incidents have been linked to expired sauce and, in one case, the serving of fried shark.
The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency attributed the mass food poisoning in Cipongkor last week to a technical error by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG), whose operations in Cipongkor have reportedly been suspended.
West Bandung regent Jeje Ritchie Ismail announced the mass poisoning in Cipongkor as an extraordinary event for faster handling.
Cipongkor was the site of the first suspected case in this week's outbreak, with 475 students falling ill initially on Monday. By Wednesday, as many as 500 additional students were also affected.
The National Narcotics Agency reported 4,711 cases of poisoning linked to free school lunches from January to September, with a higher figure reported by the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), which documented at least 6,452 cases by late September.
With these alarming statistics, calls for a government declaration of an outbreak and suspension of the program for evaluation have intensified. Some suggest funds be given directly to parents for preparing meals, a suggestion previously rebuffed by officials.
Despite the significant health risks, the government remains adamant to push forward with an initiative that was a central part of Prabowo's campaign, pitched as a solution to high rates of stunting caused by malnutrition in children under five.
While such programmes globally enhance children's health, Indonesia's extensive plan faces scrutiny not just for its execution but also for potential corruption concerns given its enormous budget, designed to provide meals for millions.
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.
It follows the poisoning of 800 students last week in West Java and Central Sulawesi provinces.
President Prabowo has made the nutritious meals programme a signature of his leadership, which aims to offer free lunches to 80 million school children, but a spate of mass food poisoning incidents has led nongovernmental organizations to call for authorities to suspend the programme due to health concerns.
Muhaimin Iskandar, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, said on Wednesday that there are no plans to stop it.
The victims complained of stomach aches, dizziness, and nausea – and some experienced shortness of breath, an atypical symptom of food poisoning. Previous cases of food poisoning linked to the programme have cited negligent food preparation as a likely cause.
This week's victims ate meals that included soy sauce chicken, fried tofu, vegetables, and fruit – but past poisoning incidents have been linked to expired sauce and, in one case, the serving of fried shark.
The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency attributed the mass food poisoning in Cipongkor last week to a technical error by the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG), whose operations in Cipongkor have reportedly been suspended.
West Bandung regent Jeje Ritchie Ismail announced the mass poisoning in Cipongkor as an extraordinary event for faster handling.
Cipongkor was the site of the first suspected case in this week's outbreak, with 475 students falling ill initially on Monday. By Wednesday, as many as 500 additional students were also affected.
The National Narcotics Agency reported 4,711 cases of poisoning linked to free school lunches from January to September, with a higher figure reported by the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), which documented at least 6,452 cases by late September.
With these alarming statistics, calls for a government declaration of an outbreak and suspension of the program for evaluation have intensified. Some suggest funds be given directly to parents for preparing meals, a suggestion previously rebuffed by officials.
Despite the significant health risks, the government remains adamant to push forward with an initiative that was a central part of Prabowo's campaign, pitched as a solution to high rates of stunting caused by malnutrition in children under five.
While such programmes globally enhance children's health, Indonesia's extensive plan faces scrutiny not just for its execution but also for potential corruption concerns given its enormous budget, designed to provide meals for millions.
