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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Kate Lamb with Reuters

More than 800 students and teachers in Indonesia suffer food poisoning after eating government free meals

Students rest while receiving treatment for food poisoning at the regional general hospital after eating government-sponsored free school meals in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, 2 September, 2026.
Students rest while receiving treatment for food poisoning at the regional general hospital after eating government-sponsored free school meals in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Photograph: Suryanto/Reuters

More than 800 Indonesian students and teachers have fallen ill in separate incidents of food poisoning linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s free-meals program this week, with dozens hospitalised after they with struck with nausea, vomiting and stomach aches.

The president’s flagship free-meals program was launched last year to tackle malnutrition, with meals distributed to more than 62 million students and pregnant women across the country.

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