Indonesia's rights body urges probe into free school meal poisonings

• Around 2,000 students and teachers across Indonesia have fallen ill with food poisoning linked to the government's free school meals program.
• Indonesia's top human rights body, Komnas HAM, has urged police to investigate the outbreaks.
• Komnas HAM also called for the suspension of kitchens allegedly responsible for the poisoning.
• The free meals program is a flagship policy of President Prabowo Subianto, aimed at eradicating malnutrition.
• Cases have been reported in Central Java, East Java, West Sumatra, and South Sulawesi.
• As of September 1, approximately 50,000 individuals had been affected by food poisoning cases related to the program.

Indonesia's top human rights body, Komnas HAM, has called on the police to investigate multiple outbreaks of food poisoning linked to President Prabowo Subianto's flagship free school meals program. The scheme, launched last year to eradicate malnutrition, has sickened around 2,000 students and teachers across at least two major islands this week.

Komnas HAM stated that the right to safe food is a human right and that without rigorous sanitation standards, the state's nutrition intervention loses moral legitimacy. The body urged the police to launch a probe and called on the National Nutrition Agency to suspend kitchens allegedly responsible for the outbreaks.

Cases have been reported in Central Java, East Java, and West Sumatra, with an additional 170 students and teachers falling ill in the South Sulawesi region of Tana Toraja. As of September 1, approximately 50,000 individuals had been affected by food poisoning cases related to the program, according to lawmaker Charles Honoris. The National Police and the National Nutrition Agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.