Komnas HAM Warns Recurring MBG Poisonings Put Children’s Lives at Risk

Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission has warned that recurring food poisoning linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship Free Nutritious Meals program is becoming a pattern, putting children’s safety at risk.

Uli Parulian Sihombing, a Komnas HAM commissioner responsible for research and assessment, said the repeated incidents raised serious concerns about the safety of children receiving meals through the program. “The incidents have continued to occur and are almost becoming a pattern,” Uli said in a written statement.

She warned that without strict daily enforcement of food sanitation standards, the state’s effort to improve nutrition could lose its moral legitimacy. A program intended to fulfill people’s rights, she said, could instead become a direct threat to human safety and dignity. “The recurrence of food poisoning incidents endangers the right to life of MBG beneficiaries, particularly schoolchildren,” Uli said.

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The incidents have continued to occur and are almost becoming a pattern.

Komnas HAM recorded hundreds of students affected by food poisoning at Islamic boarding schools and other schools in Sidoarjo and Rembang regencies, Jombang Regency and Surakarta, also known as Solo, in September 2026. Similar incidents suspected of being linked to the program were reported in Jayapura, Papua, and Semarang, Central Java, in August.

The commission said a rights-based response should include transparent epidemiological investigations, fair sanctions for those responsible and guarantees that the incidents would not recur. It urged the National Nutrition Agency, which oversees MBG, to immediately suspend food kitchens serving locations where poisoning occurred and conduct a comprehensive evaluation. Uli also called for victims to receive effective remedies.

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The recurrence of food poisoning incidents endangers the right to life of MBG beneficiaries, particularly schoolchildren.