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SCHOOL HEALTH CLUBS: THE NEED FOR REVITALIZATION

The reality of the double burden of disease has continued to stare us in the face, endlessly weakening the healthcare system and the nation’s all-around growth which calls for cost-effective yet measurably sustainable plans to address these incessant outbreaks of deadly diseases such as Ebola, Lassa fever, Zika Virus, Meningitis, Cholera, Typhoid, Malaria and lots of others. These diseases have already claimed thousands of lives in Africa and Nigeria in particular, and other health-related issues are becoming even more detrimental to the health and lives of students and the school community in the country making it a necessity for a revisit, review and restructuring of policies and practices needed to improve our health systems. Hence, it is important to revisit the implementation of school health clubs aimed at prioritising the health and life need of students, securing them from any physical harm or danger. The National School Health Policy (NSHPo) in Nigeria was adopted in 2006 to achieve these purposes, playing a pivotal role in the protection, preservation and promotion of the health of individuals in schools for effective school administration thus far. This was a step in the right direction showcasing incredible potential but the implementation has evidently slowed over the years. As much as children need to access proper educational activities and benefits, good health is essential to this process. A safe study environment protects children against health problems, bad treatments and exclusion which is an integral part of the steps to reducing the double burden of diseases in Nigeria. School Health Promotion presents a huge opportunity and relatively the most cost-effective investment any nation can make to improve education and health reach/coverage in schools. School coverage system proves to be superior to the health system, coupled with its extensive skilled workforce and community relationships, hence it plays a potential role in optimising our health system.  

The Five Outstanding Objectives of Health Education

  1. To develop health attitudes.  
  2. To eradicate the disease through health drive programmes.  
  3. To provide a healthful environment for physical and mental growth.  
  4. To improve the general conditions of living in the community.  
  5. To instruct the children and youth so as to conserve and improve their own health.

Need for Revitalization

The school has direct contact with the vast majority of the nation’s young people aged 5-17 years, for about 6 hours a day, and for up to 13 critical years of their social, psychological, physical, and intellectual development. School-age children constitute about 23% of the population of the average Nigerian community, and they are even more significant members of disease affected population. Given the school setting, with little control over their interactions, they are even more exposed to rapid and widespread infectious diseases and control can be a tard bit difficult. Hence, the implementation of these school health clubs is an important component of the overall healthcare delivery system of any country as it comprises all activities in the school environment that contributes to the understanding, maintenance and improvement of the health of the school community members and beyond, consequently impacting the healthcare sector positively. The school setting provides several advantages and opportunities for delivering content and skills on health and development issues among learners (young people) and teachers as well as parents (community at large).

Young people attending school are at a stage in life where they are willing and able to learn new information and skills, irrespective of whether the information is good or bad, and some public organisations in the health and education sector have long evaluated and agreed on the need to seize this time in imparting health contents and skills to young people; and the school setting rather than the community is also agreed to be the most ideal place for such. The school setting presents an ideal opportunity to impart valuable health information and skills to young people. Also, the school setting provides an opportunity for peer education, which is an important aspect of their growth and development, as most of these young people share experiences and are likely to influence one another positively or negatively.

 

From the available statistics about active hours children spend in the education environment, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has recorded that almost 40% of their educational life is spent in school during which they undergo physical and mental development. The overall objective of implementing health clubs in schools is to promote and improve student achievement by increasing healthy life skills through a healthy school environment, accessible health services, prompt and effective health education and necessary healthy behavioural change.  School health education clubs are focused on skills-based health education, covering disease prevention, nutrition, and reproductive health

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