WHO guideline on school health services

Schools are essential for young people to acquire knowledge, socioemotional skills including selfregulation and resilience, and critical thinking skills that provide the foundation for a healthy future. Access to education and safe and supportive school environments have been linked to better health outcomes. In turn, good health is linked to reduced drop-out rates and greater educational attainment, educational performance, employment and productivity.

WHO has long recognized the link between health and education and the potential for schools to play a central role in safeguarding student health and well-being. In 1995, WHO launched the Global School Health Initiative, which aimed to strengthen approaches to health promotion in schools. Among those approaches, pairing children with health services occupies an important place.

School health services (SHS), as defined in this guideline, are services provided by a health worker to students enrolled in primary or secondary education, either within school premises or in a health service situated outside the school. Most countries have some form of SHS, but many such programmes currently are not evidence-based, are not implemented well, are underfunded and/or are delivered with limited reach and scope. In all WHO regions, school-age children and adolescents (those aged 5–19 years) experience a range of largely preventable health problems, including unintentional injury, interpersonal violence, sexual and reproductive health issues, communicable diseases, noncommunicable diseases and mental health issues. In addition, school-age children and adolescents have positive physical, sexual, psychosocial and neurocognitive health and development needs as they progress from childhood to adulthood. The need for quality health care for 5–19-year-olds is great, but globally the quality of health services for them are variable and coverage is limited. Schools offer a unique opportunity to implement effective health services at scale for children and adolescents.