School health | À propos du programme

About the programme

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School health

The School health programme provides technical support to develop national strategies and plans of action on school health, regional, subregional and national networks of health-promoting schools, focus resources on effective school health, build national profiles and databases and build capacity to organize and provide school health services.

One of the strategic directions of the school health programme is the establishment of active and sustainable partnerships with international and regional organizations and the encouragement of sustainable partnerships among national authorities, in particular ministries of health and education, academic institutions and nongovernmental organizations concerned with the health and education of schoolchildren.

Global School Health Initiative

In 1995, WHO launched the Global School Health Initiative. This initiative seeks to mobilize and strengthen health promotion and educational activities at the local, national, regional and global levels. The main goal of this initiative is to improve the health of school students, staff, families and the community through schools. Schools are important settings where children acquire knowledge and play. It is important that a safe environment is provided to children in a place where they spend 6 hours a day on average. In addition, schools are seen as a strategic entry point for delivering health, not only to children but also to their families and the community through community involvement and outreach programmes.

Health-promoting school initiative

The health-promoting school initiative was implemented in 1994 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It has since been implemented by many countries of the Region. Generally, health-promoting schools are run by the ministry of health, in close collaboration with the ministry of education. A review of health-promoting schools in countries of the Region is currently being undertaken to set up a regional database on existing health-promoting schools and initiatives.