The health promotion at school initiatives have been making great strides. Noteworthy is that in spring 2016, the Education Community of Port-au-Prince had inspected sanitary facilities at two schools and had also interviewed students to collect information on their perceptions and use of sanitary facilities. This inventory highlighted a certain number of points of concern (bad lighting, odours, dilapidation, no separate girls/boys’ blocks, a feeling of being unsafe related to health problems, etc.) requiring urgent action.
Renovation works of the sanitary facilities were commended in January 2017 and within a few weeks, the students will have access to modern and well-equipped toilets. A redevelopment which will be accompanied by several educational actions with students to promote health and well-being through reinforcing good hygiene practices and by raising awareness of citizenship and living together.
Training of trainers in health education in schools was organized in late May with the collaboration of the Haitian Minister of Public Health and the Directorate of School Health, bringing together some thirty participants, comprised mostly of teachers. They were able to address the various education and health promotional concepts and challenges in schools as well as the project methodology.
In parallel, the CEPAP (Education Community of Port-au-Prince) is continuing its work of setting up health, social protection and citizenship education committees by mobilizing teachers, management staff, parents and students, and hopes to be able to organize the first committee meetings by the end of the school year. The challenge is size but motivation and mobilisation are not far behind!
