This country pledged to provide 80 million children with free school meals. It has ended in disaster
Indonesia's ambitious free school meals program has collapsed following mass food poisonings and corruption allegations. The head of the National Nutrition Agency has been arrested amid investigations into misappropriated funds and poor food quality.
Why it matters
The failure of this massive social welfare program highlights the risks of corruption and poor governance in large-scale public health initiatives.
This country pledged to provide 80 million children with free school meals. It has ended in disaster Indonesia 's promise to feed 80 million school children every day has led to mass food poisonings , corruption arrests, and a criminal investigation, less than 18 months after the country launched one of the world's most ambitious nutrition programmes.
The report relies on factual accounts of arrests and official investigations without injecting editorial opinion.
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