School Health Programmes can reduce common health problems in learners, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – which in turn can boost attendance and educational achievement. Healthy children learn better and school health and nutrition interventions have been shown to improve not only children’s health and nutrition, but also their learning potential and life choices both in the short and long-term.
Based on the strong link between health and education, schools are the perfect environment where a young person’s well-being, mind and body, can be encouraged, supported and maintained. Especially the poor and disadvantaged are increasingly accessible through schools health programmes; through which, in some cases, they may receive their only meal of the day. According to ‘Schools and Health’ 2016, School-based health programmes can be amongst the most cost-effective of public health interventions; promoting learning, and simultaneously reducing absenteeism, they can also be used as leverage for existing investments in schools and teachers.
“School health programmes such as OneVoice South Africa’s SCHOOLS PROGRAMME are uniquely placed to support a dramatic ripple effect, resulting in changes in attitudes, knowledge and behaviour through services and activities that not only benefit school-aged children, but also the broader school community” – Marlijn van Berne, OVSA Managing Director.