Critics have called for the free school meals programme to be suspended over hygiene concerns and accusations of corruption.
Critics have called for the free school meals programme to be suspended over hygiene concerns and accusations of corruption. Students collect trays of food supplied by the Indonesia n government's free meal programme at an elementary school in Banda Aceh on Oct 30, 2025.
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. The much-hyped billion-dollar scheme was the flagship policy of Prabowo's 2024 election campaign. The government says it has provided meals to more than 61 million people by March, but tens of thousands of people have fallen ill since the programme was launched in January last year.
"The president has decided to make changes to the leadership of the National Nutrition Agency," State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters in Jakarta, citing food quality among various concerns behind the move. "The government will continue to ensure that throughout the ongoing evaluation process, all programmes of the National Nutrition Agency will continue to run as they should," Prasetyo said. Dadan Hindayana, an entomologist who led the agency since its inception, was replaced by his deputy, Nanik Sudaryati Deyang.
Last month, anti-graft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch filed a complaint against Dadan citing alleged budget irregularities. Dadan told parliament last year the programme was responsible for at least 11,000 poisoning cases, with over 600 people hospitalised. More than 20 per cent of children in Indonesia are affected by stunting caused by severe malnutrition. The government hoped the scheme would provide meals for at least 82.9 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women - about one-third of the country's population.
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