Stakeholders demand review of 2006 National School Health Policy

By Chinedu Adonu

Stakeholders successful the wellness and acquisition sectors person called for a broad reappraisal of the 2006 National School Health Policy (NSHP) to code the increasing wellness challenges faced by Nigerian schoolchildren.

The telephone was made during a roundtable connected revising the NSHP, organised by the Protect Urban School Children’s Health (PUSH) project, led by the Health Policy Research Group (HPRG) of the University of Nigeria. The event, held astatine Sylvia Hotel, Enugu, brought unneurotic representatives of authorities agencies, planetary organisations, and nonrecreational associations.

The PUSH task is supported by the Rivers State Ministry of Health, the University of Dundee (Scotland), and the CHORUS Urban Health Research Consortium.

Participants included representatives of the Federal Ministries of Education, Health and Social Welfare, Women Affairs, and Budget and Economic Planning, alongside officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, and the Paediatrics Association of Nigeria (PAN).

Principal Investigator of the PUSH project, Dr. Prince Agwu, said the reappraisal and afloat implementation of the NSHP had go urgent to accommodate emerging wellness concerns among schoolchildren.

He noted that related policies specified arsenic the Child Rights Act and the National Policy connected the Health and Development of Young People had not been effective.

“School-based wellness services are not optimal, indispensable wellness indicators are being neglected, and the links betwixt schools and the wellness system—particularly superior healthcare—have breached down. The consequences bespeak a deficiency of corporate and committed attraction to the wellness of schoolchildren, arsenic evidenced by an outdated schoolhouse wellness policy,” Agwu said.

He identified gaps successful governance, financing, operational plans, and implementation wrong the 2006 policy, adding that a caller section had been developed for inclusion successful the revised document.

According to him, the probe squad applied qualitative, quantitative, and geographic accusation strategy methods to measure wellness challenges facing schoolchildren.

“It became wide that we request to rework the National School Health Policy to conscionable existent realities. We besides held argumentation dialogues involving children to guarantee their voices were integrated into the grounds we produced. We are hopeful that the Federal Ministry of Education volition proceed moving with america to propulsion this argumentation to the adjacent signifier of validation and implementation,” helium said.

Assistant Director of Programmes astatine the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Ogwuche Itodo, described the revision arsenic agelong overdue and pledged the ministry’s commitment.

“By the grace of God, we’ll contiguous our study to the Permanent Secretary for onward transmission to the National Council connected Education, which takes decisions connected acquisition issues. Once that is done, each states and section governments volition person a model for implementation,” Itodo assured.

Similarly, Senior Medical Officer astatine the NPHCDA, Dr. Peter Wuya, said the aged argumentation had go obsolete and stressed that the revised mentation would code modern concerns specified arsenic accent disorders, learning disabilities, societal media addiction, substance abuse, and intersexual wellness issues.

He added that ongoing revitalisation of superior healthcare centres, with improved infrastructure and staffing, would further fortify implementation.

UNESCO Professional Officer successful the Education Sector, Ms. Oyebukola Adeleye, pledged the organisation’s readiness to supply method enactment for the revised policy.

President of the Paediatrics Association of Nigeria (PAN), Prof. Ekanem Ekure, represented by Prof. Maduka Ughasoro, said the model would assistance schools supply safer learning environments.

“The caller argumentation volition guarantee schools are optimal successful structure, ventilation, lighting, and repast provision. It volition besides fortify links betwixt schools and communities, portion embedding health,...