Overview
- President Prabowo removed National Nutrition Agency head Dadan Hindayana and named deputy Nanik Sudaryati Deyang to replace him, a decision announced Tuesday and tied to concerns about agency performance and food quality.
- Investigators from the Attorney‑General’s Office raided and locked down the agency’s Jakarta headquarters in the early hours of Wednesday as searches and evidence collection continued.
- The free meals scheme has been linked to mass food‑poisoning incidents, with Dadan telling parliament there were at least 11,000 reported cases and more than 600 hospitalisations and NGOs reporting higher totals.
- Anti‑graft group Indonesia Corruption Watch filed a complaint last month alleging budget irregularities, the AGO has confirmed the raid but not detailed charges, and officials say meal services will continue during the probes.
- The programme is a flagship, roughly US$15 billion plan meant to feed about 82–83 million children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, and the investigations raise political, fiscal and public‑health risks for vulnerable children and the government’s broader budget plans.