Health Promoting Schools: Initiatives in Africa.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale for and potential of World Health Organization (WHO) health promoting schools (HPS) in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Overview of the related literature and presentations at the 2011 Stellenbosch international colloquium on HPS relating to sub-Saharan Africa. Findings – Schools provide the most efficient and effective way to reach large portions of the population; however, no literature reporting evaluations of HPS from Africa existed ten years ago. The WHO now supports HPS strategies in over 32 African countries, recognizing that the burden of disease, disability and premature death is disproportionately high in the region, and that many of the causes are preventable. Novel applications of the WHO model are increasing; those applicable to Africa include: measures to address the widespread problem of poor oral health, hygiene and nutrition among children; a range of “entry point” activities to initiate HPS with validated evaluation me...