Jakarta. The government promised Thursday that it would cover the medical expenses of any child who falls sick from the free school lunches.

Massive food poisoning has rocked President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meal program. The National Nutrition Agency (BGN), the body that is in charge of overseeing the rollout, reported that at least 6,457 people had fallen ill from consuming the government-funded meals since the first trays made their way to schools in January. Indonesia has insisted on keeping the program running, while having extra hygiene measures in place and covering the food poisoning victims’ medical bill.

“The government, namely the BGN, will cover the expenses,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told reporters in Jakarta.

However, BGN’s chief, Dadan Hindayana, later clarified that the agency would only pay the medical bills in regions that have not declared the so-called “extraordinary occurrence”. This status, also known by its local abbreviation KLB, indicates a high level of health emergency. So far, two regions -- namely West Java regencies of Garut and West Bandung -- have declared emergency occurrence. The local governments of the said regions will take care of the expenses via the state health insurer BPJS Kesehatan instead.  

The budget-heavy program not only targets schoolchildren, but also toddlers and expectant mothers. Despite the free lunch fiasco, Dadan restated that Prabowo has no intention of stopping the program and even ordered a faster distribution instead.

“Mr. President instructed me to expedite [the rollout]. Many kids and parents are waiting for their turn to receive the meals. ... So I will continue implementing the program unless the president gives a different order," Dadan told the same conference.

As Indonesia presses ahead with the free lunch, the government is banking on hygiene and food safety certificates to prevent more kids from having to be rushed to hospitals. As of September, 198 public kitchens have already received hygiene certification. The government plans on launching a nationwide survey every six months that aims to measure a child’s height and weight. This way, the government can see whether the meal rollout really does wonders for the kids’ physical growth.  

Indonesia has set aside Rp 71 trillion (around $4.3 billion) in the state budget to run the program for this year alone. However, the Finance Ministry reported that the program had only spent Rp 13 trillion to feed 22.7 million individuals as of September 8. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa had floated a plan to shift some of the funds to other programs if the spending remained sluggish.

The Prabowo administration aims to feed 82.9 million students, expectant mothers, and toddlers by the end of this year. 

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