SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH EDUCATION:

• This project started in 2005 in collaboration with the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood by conducting reproductive health education for girls attending schools in Upper Egypt and Giza. 65 seminars were conducted and attended by more than 3000 girls in preparatory, secondary and technical schools.
• In the year 2009, EFHS started an ambitious project for health education in schools in 22 governorates in collaboration with the NGO Department of the Ministry of Education.
• Initially, 52 recently graduate male and female physicians from the 22 governorates were trained in order to be able to provide quality and participatory health education in schools. Interactive learning and communication with young people were stressed upon during the training beside medical information.
• Physicians were instructed to allow adequate time and opportunity for students to ask written unanimous questions and concerns.
• Written questions received from students during the first 6 months of the project were edited by EFHS and published in a book entitled “Adolescents’ Question”. This valuable publication has been considered as a “needs’ assessment” tool that demonstrates the health topics and issues that young people want to know as well as their concerns, problems and misinformation.
• A total of 5280 seminars were conducted in 1290 and attended by more than 350000 students; both males and females during the project duration from 2009 till 2016.
• EFHS studied the impact of this school-based health education in 2011. The study indicated marked positive effect on the health knowledge of students who attended the seminars as well as indications of behavior changes in many of them. The seminars were highly accepted by students, parents and school staff. Parents encouraged their kids to attend and schools presented remarkable support to host the seminars and share in the project. Students were very pleased with the performance of the physicians during the seminars, and thought they are more favorable to do so because they presented information in a relaxing and clear manner as well as being able to answer all questions.