Thousands Sickened in Indonesia's School Meals Program

More than 1,100 children in West Java fell ill this week after eating free school lunches, following a separate incident last week affecting about 800 students and bringing the total reported cases since January to roughly 6,400. Reported symptoms ranged from stomachaches, dizziness and nausea to seizures, severe dehydration and loss of consciousness, straining local health facilities and prompting a West Java health emergency and temporary closure of dozens of kitchens. The meals program, a flagship of President Prabowo Subianto, aims to reach about 82–83 million beneficiaries by year-end and has been variously estimated to cost between roughly $10 billion and $28 billion. NGOs and critics have urged a halt or a switch to direct cash transfers, citing food-safety failures, logistical problems and corruption risks. The government has launched probes, deployed nutritionists and health workers, said it will evaluate and improve implementation, but officials maintain there are no immediate plans to stop the program.