Pretoria, 11 October 2012 -- South Africa’s State President, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, has launched the government’s Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) planned to reach twelve million pupils in a phased approach. “We will start with the no-fee schools which include the most disadvantaged schools in the country that serve our poorest communities.”

School Health Programme as a combination of services will ensure the physical, mental and social wellbeing of leaners so as to maximize their learning capabilities. The programme will offer among others the following services:

Eyesight, hearing and oral hygiene,
Immunization (for foundation and intermediate phases),
Deworming (for foundation and intermediate phases),
Prevention of drug and alcohol use and abuse, and
Counseling on sexual and reproductive health issues.
In his speech, President Zuma thanked ISHP Task Team members including the National Department of Health, National Department of Basic Education, National Department of Social Development, World Health Organisation, UNICEF, Love Life, and Soul City and others who worked tirelessly in developing the ISHP. “We count on this team to continue their work to ensure that the implementation of this programme is a resounding success.”

The WHO Country Office will continue to work with the task team in:

Strengthening implementation of the ISHP,
Investing in capacity building for ISHP professional development programmes,
Building ISHP evidence through research and documenting of ISHP experiences, and
Harmonizing action among partners for sustainable ISHP partnership