State Failure to Guarantee the Human Right to Health: A Case Study of Food Poisoning in the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program

Abstract

Based on data on the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia, the stunting rate was recorded at 21.60% in 2022, followed by a slight decline to 21.50% in 2023 and a further decrease to 19.80% in 2024. The government has set a target to further reduce the prevalence of stunting to 18%. One of the measures undertaken by the government to reduce stunting while simultaneously supporting the development of the quality and intellectual capacity of the younger generation is the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Program. However, the implementation of the program has not proceeded entirely as expected. Several problems in the implementation of the MBG Program have affected its beneficiaries, including incidents of food poisoning involving students and teachers. In response to these issues, this study employs a normative juridical legal research method using secondary data obtained from legislation, official government websites, books, journals, articles, and other relevant scholarly works. The collected data were analyzed through several stages, namely data reduction, which involved collecting and selecting relevant data; data display; and drawing conclusions. The findings indicate that the MBG Program constitutes one of the government policies aimed, among other objectives, at supporting efforts to address stunting. Nevertheless, several shortcomings in its implementation have resulted in incidents of food poisoning affecting students and teachers. The fulfillment of the rights of victims of food poisoning associated with the implementation of the MBG Program has not been fully ensured by the government. The rights that have been fulfilled have primarily been limited to physical health recovery, while the psychological recovery of victims has not received adequate attention. Furthermore, victims have not received compensation from the government. In fact, the fulfillment of victims' rights following food poisoning incidents constitutes an integral part of the respect for and protection of human rights. As a follow-up to these incidents, the government, together with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), has conducted an evaluation of the implementation of the MBG Program with the aim of preventing similar incidents from recurring. In addition to conducting the evaluation, the government has also imposed sanctions in the form of the closure of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) associated with the occurrence of these incidents.