Health Education

An Overview of Health Education at AKU-IED

Since 1998, the successful Health Action Schools (HAS) Project and other school health promotion activities have built capacity at Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED), which is being used to attempt new initiatives particularly related to teacher education for school health promotion. The HAS project provided an opportunity to reflect on what had been learned about effective health promotion in schools. The aim of the HAS project was to develop prototypes of health-promoting schools that integrated health education, school environment and health services using the Child-to-Child (CtC) approach, for the first time in Pakistan. For more information visit: http://child-to-child.org/

The four-year action research project (1998-2002) based at AKU-IED has been developed in partnership with Save the Children (UK). The study was conducted at five schools, with contrasting contexts, in Karachi. The project has also supported other schools in Karachi and education programmes throughout Pakistan in adaptation of its methodology for school health education and health promotion.

Many examples of health action have been noted, particularly in school. Children have been involved in making dustbins, maintaining cleaner latrines and water sources, bringing boiled water to school, bringing healthy food for lunch and buying less snack food from street vendors, achieving a lice-free school, and making toys for younger children. Children also gave concrete examples of how, as individuals, they were motivated to promote new health ideas at home.

HAS Final Evaluation Report