All pre-primary and primary schools and the majority of secondary schools in Ethiopia do not have school-based health services. IFA launched a new initiative of setting up school clinics that is in line with the National School health and Nutrition Strategy. The school clinics are run in collaboration with the health bureau. IFA proposes to setup and handover 1 school clinic per year for the following five years.
Initially essential drugs, supplies and equipment will be organized as a school health kit and will be delivered by IFA to the selected school. The school clinics are linked to the nearby health center and they are managed in the same manner as health posts, whereby the health center will incorporate the drugs, supplies and equipment needs of school clinics in their forecasting plans and fulfill distribution accordingly.
To ensure sustainability of the project we are fostering links with health facilities in the community and by working in collaboration with the district Health and Education offices to assign a nurse to a school clinic .The schools provide the necessary health infrastructure ( room, water and electricity ).
The school clinics are working to improve awareness of students and teachers about hygiene, nutrition, and health and improved the emergency health delivery service in the school. In one of the schools the initiative was coupled with a school health club where plant based cooking demonstrations were done. School hygiene audits and summer long activities were completed successfully.
All pre-primary and primary schools and the majority of secondary schools in Ethiopia do not have school-based health services. IFA launched a new initiative of setting up school clinics that is in line with the National School health and Nutrition Strategy. The school clinics are run in collaboration with the health bureau. IFA proposes to setup and handover 1 school clinic per year for the following five years.