Dozens of Indonesian schoolchildren have suffered food poisoning after consuming free meals offered through a new flagship program of President Prabowo Subianto, his office has confirmed.
Rolled out this month, Prabowo’s multi-billion dollar policy was a centrepiece of the former general’s election campaign, with a pledge to reach 82.9 million children and pregnant women out of the country’s population of 280 million by 2029.
Prabowo has said the program will improve their quality of life and boost economic growth.
But aside from the financial challenges and Herculean logistical effort required, the government is facing another issue with 40 students from a school in Sukoharjo, Central Java vomiting and feeling nauseous after consuming the meals in recent days.
“There was an incident,” Indonesia’s presidential spokesperson Hasan Nasbi confirmed to the Guardian, “Forty children who ate marinated chicken experienced nausea and vomiting.”
The affected students has been treated and medicated and their conditions improved, he said. The food had been immediately withdrawn and the “undesirable incident” would be used as a “very important evaluation” to ensure food safety going forward, he said.
Reports in the Indonesian media said the food poisoning in the Central Java school was not an isolated incident, claiming that dozens of students had also fallen ill after eating government-provided free meals in Nunukan, North Kalimantan.
Nasbi did not immediately comment on those reports.
The program, intended to reduce stunting and malnutrition, has a projected cost of $45bn over five years, with reports that an additional $6.11bn will be needed to expand it to reach more than a quarter of its population by year-end.
Stunting affects 21.5% of children in the world’s largest archipelago, and is more pronounced in the country’s less developed eastern regions.
This month at least 190 kitchens run by third-party catering services opened nationwide, including some run by military bases, with officials aiming to feed 570,000 on the opening day.
As he approaches the 100th day of his presidency, Prabowo’s populist policies have earned him a high approval rating, with a survey by Litbang Kompas released on Monday finding that 80.9% approved of the new government’s performance so far.
