The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced its upcoming School Health Education project, aimed at increasing UAE school students’ awareness on how to lead a healthy lifestyle in partnership the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and SEHA ambulatory health services (SEHA) and du. This pilot project will begin in December 2013 and will run for one year in 18 government secondary schools across the UAE, with two in each of the emirates, Al Ain and Western Province.

This School Health Education project addresses the challenges in delivering health education to students and promotes the use of active, participatory learning activities for developing knowledge, attitudes and skills for students to make healthy choices.

Focus group discussions with school nurses and data collected from the health authorities will determine the health issues and behaviours, as well as the availability of capacities and resources in schools. Based on this, a manual for the delivery of health education workshops using a skills-based approach will be developed.

Alongside the development of participatory teaching methods for health education topics, as set by the Ministry of Health and SEHA ambulatory health services, the programme will train school nurses to effectively apply this approach in the delivery of these sessions to students. Finally, this should lead to the development of an action plan to mainstream the skills-based health education programme across all government secondary schools in the UAE.

Dr. Ibrahim El- Ziq, Gulf Area Representative, UNICEF said: “Research has shown that an active participatory learning approach is the most effective method for developing knowledge and bringing about positive change. Through the School Health Education project we hope to educate as many secondary school children as we can on the benefits of adopting healthy lifestyles; which contributes to the overall strategy of the health and education authorities in the UAE. We are grateful to our partners who are instrumental in bringing the project to life. Together, we are empowering children to shape their own lives in the future.”

His Excellency Mr. Nasser Khalifa Al Budoor, Director of Dubai Medical District and Director of H.E Minister’s Office, Ministry of Health, said: “The Ministry of Health has always supported and encouraged the establishment of effective partnerships for implementing national plans on which the development of human resources and welfare depend.
Due to the close relationship between health and education, we always aspire to having people who are aware of the methods of protecting their health, preventing disease, practicing   healthy   behavior   and   maintaining an environment free of dangers.
The ministry of health in cooperation with other partners, makes a great effort in the health education in schools and other institutions.

As capacity development is considered   an essential component  of every program, this program has been focused on building the capacity of all workers in health and education  services  especially school nurses  and coordinators of schools activities.
Health education is offered   by using   interactive methods as studies   have shown that such methods are most capable   of developing   knowledge and practices as well as the skills and views of students and enable them to make correct decisions.”

Aisha Alsiri, Director of Nutrition and School Health, Ministry of Education said: “One of the ministry’s goals is to promote activities which develop life skills for students in order to create a healthy generation of students as they represent a significant proportion of the community as they are a quarter of the population. The school provides a great opportunity to take care of health and education by giving school workers health education skills to plan, implement, and evaluate school health programs, and to provide them with the skills and abilities necessary for early detection of health problems, as well as the skills to improve the school environment in order to promote the health of students. This is only possible through coordination with different healthy authorities.”

Mohamed Hawas Al Sadid, Chief Executive Officer, SEHA, said: “Ambulatory Healthcare Services entrusts its healthcare personnel to effect wide-reaching positive changes in society. Dissemination of highly communicative slogans and messages by our school nurses will go a long way in inculcating a healthy lifestyle among our kids. As the sole provider of health services in Abu Dhabi’s public schools, AHS’ school nurses are vital spokes in the wheel promoting the good health and success of our new generations, exemplifying the motto “Healthy minds in healthy bodies.””

Hala Badri, Executive Vice President, Brand and Communications, du, commented: “As a UAE national corporate entity, we believe that our role in the society goes above and beyond providing telecom services. During the recently-concluded UAE cabinet retreat, UAE Vice President, Prime Minster and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had rightfully commented, “The delivery of better medical services is a joint task for the federal and local governments and the private sector.”
“Guided by this vision, today we are taking this a step further by partnering with UNICEF, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and SEHA for the School Health Education project, with whom we share a collective vision of a healthier UAE. We look forward to seeing our investment in the future of the UAE pay off, both in the short and long-term, which would result in a healthier future generation,” Badri concluded.