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Over 1,258 Indonesian children have fallen ill after consuming free school lunches this week, adding to a growing number of mass food poisoning incidents linked to a government program. The program, a key initiative of President Prabowo Subianto, aims to provide free lunches to 80 million students. However, concerns about food safety and the program's massive cost, exceeding $10 billion annually, have prompted calls for a suspension. Authorities deny plans to halt the program despite ongoing incidents and a reported 4,711 cases of poisoning since January.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.