5,000 kids fall sick after free school meals in Indonesia

New cases come amid calls for programme's suspension; students suffering from the disease complained of shortness of breath, dizziness and severe stomach pain

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Indonesia's government was facing calls on Thursday to suspend President Prabowo Subianto 's multi-billion-dollar free meals program after thousands of school pupils fell ill in an food poisoning outbreak.

Television reports showed hospital wards filled with children, with some crying in pain and clutching their stomachs, while police and health workers carried away other victims in ambulances, vans and trucks.

The Free Nutritious Meal programme was started in January with the aim of fighting malnutrition by feeding nearly 90 million children and pregnant women. The initiative, which is expected to cost $28 billion through 2029, delivers on a campaign promise by Subianto, who was elected last year, which has more than 282 million people and Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

The National Nutrition Agency recorded about 1,376 cases of school-linked food poisoning cases between January and the end of June. The number of students affected rose to 4,711 this week, with more than 1,000 victims reported in hardest hit West Java province alone.