HHD increases support of WHO's Mega Country School Health Network

EDC's Health and Human Development Programs (HHD) is strengthening its longstanding relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) through new technological and program advances in support of WHO's Mega Country School Health Network. The global network, which is made up of the world's 11 most populous nations, designs and implements strategies to ensure the healthy development of young people through schools; such strategies have been shown to improve academic performance.

"Good health and nutrition are key elements for school participation, retention, and performance, and a vast number of conditions, such as malaria, worm infections, and nutritional deficiencies seriously undermine academic achievement," says Cheryl Vince Whitman, senior vice president of EDC and director of HHD.

On behalf of WHO, HHD has, with other partners:

• Created a Mega Country School Health Network website to provide resources and communication opportunities for educators and policy makers around the world;
  
  
• Provided support to WHO to convene four annual meetings of Mega Country representatives and delegates from UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, and other international agencies, all partners in "FRESH" — Focusing Resources on Effective School Health — a framework that individual countries are using to develop school health interventions that meet their unique needs;
  
  
• Introduced a tobacco-control policy framework to Mega Country leaders, and gained feedback on tobacco advocacy curricula and policies; and
  
  
• Assisted UNESCO in designing activities for countries to explore the development of plans — and to seek World Bank support — for nutrition and other health interventions to achieve the goals of Education for All (EFA), which provides primary education for children with the aim of reducing adult illiteracy worldwide.

HHD staff have served as consultants and advisors to WHO for more than 10 years. In 1998, HHD was designated the WHO Collaborating Center to Promote Health Through Schools and Communities. It is in that role that HHD serves the Mega Country School Health Network, and assisted in convening delegates from most of the 11 countries at the International Union on Health Promotion and Education's 17th World Conference in Paris, July 15-20, 2001. During that meeting, the fourth annual meeting of the School Health Component of the Mega Countries was held, and it is where the above developments were introduced and/or discussed.

The goal of the new website (http://www5.who.int/school-youth-health/main.cfm?s=0009) is to feature countries' accomplishments, improve communication, and encourage the exchange of information among Mega Country partners. The site describes the Network's various school health initiatives, and has discussion groups, news, publications, and resources.

"It's an excellent way for country representatives to stay current on school health initiatives and share their experiences and challenges," says Carmen Aldinger, HHD associate project director, who specializes in global school health issues and oversees the website. Technology will be an increasingly important way for the Mega Country partners to exchange information with one another, and, in the future, HHD will add online learning activities, she added.

The Mega Countries, which represent 60 percent of the world's population, include: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, and the United States.

One of the goals of the Paris meeting was to move the agenda of the FRESH partners forward. The aim of the FRESH framework is to focus on interventions — in both rural and urban schools — that promote learning through improved health and nutrition. Four proven strategies comprise the framework. They are: the creation of health-related school policies, safe water and sanitation, skills-based health education, and health and nutrition services. And three proven supportive strategies of the framework include: partnerships between teachers and health workers, community partnerships, and pupil participation.

Another important advance that came out of the Paris meeting was gaining feedback from Mega Country delegates on ways they plan to implement tobacco control strategies. For example, participants from Mexico and Brazil discussed ways to protect children from tobacco addiction by enforcing laws that ban sales to minors and discouraging advertising targeted to young people.

Chinese delegates suggested that a portion of the money raised from tobacco taxes be used to finance tobacco control and health promotion efforts. And representatives from Nigeria and India brainstormed economic alternatives to tobacco growing, manufacturing, and sales.

By next year's Mega Country meeting, delegates will have pilot tested guidelines for creating and enforcing tobacco control policies and a tobacco control advocacy curriculum in two or three countries. WHO suggested the creation of advisory groups, including representatives of ministries of health and education, teacher unions, and other organizations. These groups would select 5-10 schools where staff and students would be prepared to make a commitment to co-develop tobacco control interventions with WHO and its partners.

Also at next year's meeting, each country will share a national plan on how to implement Education for All, the literacy program, using the FRESH framework as a guide to address school health issues.

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Copyright 2002 Education Development Center