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Food-borne illnesses spread in Indonesia as government downplays free meals crisis
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Elementary student Muhammad Setiawan Pratama receiving treatment for food poisoning at a makeshift clinic in Bandung, Indonesia, on Sept 25, after eating government-sponsored free school meals.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA - As food poisoning cases linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meal programme continue to spread across the country, public concern is mounting over the government’s insistence on continuing the roll-out despite calls for a full pause to allow for investigation and improvements.
Initially launched for around 3 million students in January, the programme rapidly expanded to reach 30 million recipients nationwide as at September, with an ultimate goal of serving 82.9 million students and pregnant women “who are hoping to get the free meals soon”, to quote the President’s statement last week, despite official reports of over 6,000 foodborne illness cases linked to the multibillion-dollar project.
