Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – Over 1,000 children have reportedly suffered from food poisoning after consuming free nutritious meals (MBG) in January 2026, said the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI).
JPPI National Coordinator, Ubaid Matraji, said the most striking cases occurred in Grobogan, Central Java, with 658 victims, followed by Mojokerto, East Java, with 261 victims; Semarang, Central Java, with 75 victims; and Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, with 66 victims.
"We haven't hit the middle of the month yet, but the numbers have exceeded 1,000 children already," he said, as quoted from a release on Monday, January 12, 2026.
Ubaid stressed that these cases are not mere technical errors, as they concern the lives of children who should be protected by the state.
The Indonesian government, he said, must not reduce the tragedy to a series of statistical numbers. Each victim, he said, is a child tormented by vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, trauma, and a loss of security at school.
"These little bodies are collapsing at school. The state must not hide behind nutrition slogans while turning a blind eye to the suffering of children," Ubaid said.
Ubaid argued that the numbers of food poisoning cases early in this year proves that the president and National Nutrition Agency failed in their commitment to improve the free nutritious meal program. On the contrary, the government prioritizes the program's electability over the safety of children.
"What we see is no matter the risk, as long as this program is being enforced and the cronies continue to sow the benefits, the safety of children is no longer the main priority," Ubaid said.
At the same time, JPPI also received several reports from a number of teachers and parents who were discriminated while exposing the situation to the public. Ubaid asked the government to evaluate, instead of asking students and other beneficiaries to accept such unfortunate events.
"Every child and school is the legitimate owner of this program, not the recipients of the state's benevolence. Owners have the right to question, refuse, correct, and sue," he said.
Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Nanik S. Deyang, has not responded to Tempo's request for confirmation. But she previously deemed food posioning cases and other problems within the MBG program as "beyond human control."
She cannot guarantee that there will be no more incidents going forward, but pledged to minimize the risks.
– Dinda Shabrina contributed to the writing of this article.