Food poisoning outbreak mars Indonesian president’s flagship free meal program
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Dozens of children fall ill during rollout of program that was a centrepiece of President Prabowo Subianto’s election campaign. 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 The food had been immediately withdrawn and the “undesirable incident” would be used as a “very important evaluation” to ensure food safety going forward, he said.
