The State of School Health Services of the School Health Programme in Nigeria: A Position Paper by the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) Sub-Committee on School Health Programme

Abstract

This position paper summarises the current understanding of the School Health Services (SHS) component of the School Health Programme (SHP) in Nigeria in light of the results of the Nationwide Situation Analysis (SITAN) Survey conducted, existing literature exploration, and findings from the interactive sessions with relevant stakeholders on SHP. This article on SHS complements and is intended to integrate with parallel position papers on other components of the School Health Programme: Healthful school environment, School feeding services, School-based health education, and School home and community relationships in Nigeria. Challenges and solutions related to pre-entry medical screening, routine health screening/examinations, immunisation, school health records, sick bay, first aid and referral services were all reviewed. Gaps in our understanding of SHS in Nigeria and avenues for further research were also examined. Recommendations include a mandatory review of the National School Health Policy of 2006, training and retraining of staff and students on attitudinal change to become advocates for health in both the schools and communities, linkage of schools with healthcare providers, especially paediatricians and nurses, in a hub and spoke model; and development of precise performance -monitoring indicators for SHS. Gaps in our understanding of SHS in Nigeria and avenues for further research work were also highlighted.