Some 400 Indonesian school children fall ill after eating free school meals

In the worst case of widespread food poisoning linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship food program to help pregnant women and children, 400 children in Indonesia’s western Bengkulu province became ill after receiving free school meals, according to an investigation that was launched.

As President Prabowo arrived in Beijing, China for events observing the end of World War II and days after widespread antigovernment protests erupted, Indonesian cities and towns were swept up in fear.

According to Vice Governor Mian of Bengkulu Province, authorities will launch an investigation into the source of the illness.

Mian, who goes by a single name, promised to temporarily suspend operations at this kitchen while we looked into the areas where the weaknesses were.

The BGN [National Nutrition Agency] investigation team and the authorities are in charge of this, he said.

The program’s director, Dadan Hindayana, the head of the National Nutrition Agency, told the Reuters news agency that the kitchen had only recently begun operating and that staff had been requesting information while waiting for results from food tests.

Authorities plan to reach 83 million recipients by year-end, spending a total of 171 trillion rupees ($10.52 billion) for the program since its launch, and the program has quickly grown to include more than 20 million recipients.

The president started the program in January, but hundreds of people had already been affected by food poisoning.

In Central Java, 365 people received free school meals last month. Laboratory tests revealed that the outbreak was the result of poor sanitation, according to local media reports.

According to a video handout from the local government, children between the ages of 4 and 12 were taken to a local hospital to complain of stomach pain starting last Thursday as part of the most recent mass illness in Bengkulu.

According to China’s CCTV, Prabowo was seen attending a military parade hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday to honor the 80th anniversary of Japan’s end of World War II.

In the midst of widespread unrest, Prabowo decided to visit China despite the ongoing street protests there. He then briefly rethought his decision to visit.

According to reports from civic organizations and officials, 20 people are now believed to have died in protests over the weekend, according to a report from The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The UN called for inquiries into Indonesia’s security forces’ alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators in Geneva on Monday.

In response to widespread protests against parliamentary seats, austerity measures, and alleged use of excessive or excessive force by security forces, UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said, “We are closely following the spate of violence in Indonesia.”