11.11.2025 (04:30 PM) Htate See

More than 1,000 children in Indonesia’s West Java province have fallen ill with food poisoning after eating free school lunches this week, authorities say.

The incident is the latest major outbreak of food poisoning in President Prabowo Subianto’s free school lunch program.

West Java Governor Didi Mulradi said on September 25 that there have been mass food poisoning outbreaks in four locations in the province, and non-governmental organizations have called for the program to be suspended over health concerns.

The latest outbreak comes after more than 800 students in West Java and Central Sulawesi provinces fell ill after eating school lunches last week.

The program, which currently provides lunches to more than 20 million children and aims to reach 83 million by the end of the year, has drawn public questions about the rules and management of the program.

The project’s 171 trillion rupiah ($10.2 billion) budget is set to double next year.

The aim of the project is to reduce stunting, which currently affects more than 20 percent of Indonesian children.

More than 470 students in West Bandung fell ill on September 22 after eating free lunches, and three students and at least 580 children in the Sukabumi area fell ill on September 24, said Mulradi, the governor.

“We need to evaluate the project. The most important thing is how to treat the emotional trauma of the children who ate the food,” Mulradi said, adding that small hospitals in West Bandung were overwhelmed with sick students.

Prabowo’s office did not immediately comment on the latest food poisoning incidents.

Dadan Hindarana, head of the National Nutrition Agency, which oversees the free lunch program, said kitchens were being closed in areas where food poisoning incidents had occurred.

Lisabella Zahara, 15, fell ill on September 24 after eating chicken and tofu made with soybean paste served at school.

“After 30 minutes, I started feeling nauseous and had a headache,” the high school student said.