The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) has urged the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to temporarily suspend the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program.

This call was made following a surge in the number of children suffering from food poisoning linked to MBG meals over the past few weeks.

JPPI’s National Coordinator, Ubaid Matraji, declared that the poisoning incidents have reached a humanitarian emergency level. He emphasized that thousands of children had to be hospitalized, with some nearly losing their lives after consuming food provided by the program.

“BGN must not gamble with the lives of the nation’s children. If this program truly prioritizes their welfare, it must be halted immediately before more victims emerge,” Ubaid stated in his remarks on Friday (September 19).

According to JPPI’s monitoring up to mid-September, at least 5,360 children have fallen victim to food poisoning. However, the real number is believed to be higher as some schools and local governments allegedly attempted to conceal the cases.

JPPI stressed that the issue is no longer a matter of technical errors but reflects a systemic failure in the management of the MBG program under BGN’s coordination. The organization argued that such a pattern highlights the government’s inability to guarantee food safety for children.

Originally, the MBG program was introduced to improve student nutrition and reduce stunting. Yet weak oversight, rushed distribution, and the absence of strict food safety standards have instead turned the initiative into a health threat for schoolchildren.

JPPI is calling on BGN to immediately stop the program, conduct a comprehensive evaluation, and place children’s safety above political agendas or program ambitions. Ubaid underscored that student well-being must remain the highest priority.

“If this program is not promptly reviewed, it means the state is neglecting its own citizens. Schoolchildren must not be treated as test subjects for a flawed policy from the very beginning,” Ubaid stressed.