Social Issue

In recent years, many developing countries have made enormous strides in improving child health and reducing under-five mortality.
However, the health needs of children over 5 years of age continue to be overlooked. Unfortunately, illness in school-aged children has a devastating impact on their health, learning, development and future.
Nearly 50% of the African population is under the age of 15. The future of the continent and its children depends on their ability to stay healthy, learn effectively and develop to their full potential.

Our Response

Starting in Zambia, Healthy Learners has developed a solution that connects school-aged children to primary care, expanding access to school-based healthcare. Over the past 6 years, Healthy Learners has worked with the Zambian government to develop, evaluate and refine this school-based community healthcare model. The Zambian government is planning to roll out this model nationwide:

Healthy Learners trains selected teachers (as school-based health workers) to provide health education, assess and triage students, and to make referrals to clinics and facilitate biannual mass drug administration (MDA) programs for deworming and vitamin A supplementation. The Ministry of Health provides all deworming medications and vitamin A supplementation for MDA.
School Health Workers uses tablets equipped with diagnostic software developed by its technology partner, THINKMD. The program enables accurate clinical assessments, integrated decision support, data collection, continuous quality monitoring and community health surveillance.
Healthy Learners trains school administrators to oversee and manage the school health program and invests in community awareness to educate parents, guardians and community leaders about the program and the health needs of school-aged children.
Healthy Learners works with school administrators and local government to establish nurse rooms in partner schools. The nurse’s rooms serve as places where children know they can go when they are not feeling well to receive care from a school health worker. The Ministry of Education has adopted its school nurse room project as a national standard. The Zambian government covers the costs of the project.

Due to the success of the model, and at the request of the government, Healthy Learners is expanding its model to all provincial capitals in the country as part of a 3-year national expansion plan.

Netri’s donation will contribute to Healthy Learners’ budget to fund the establishment of nursing rooms in schools. Specifically, in 7 schools in the Chipata district. The schools that received this support are: Chipata, Gondar, Hillside Basic, Lutembwe, Mchini, Mpezeni and Nadalitsika Primary Schools.

Expected Social Impact

An independent study conducted in 2019 by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has shown that self-diagnosed illnesses decreased by 38%, deworming and Vitamin A intake increased by 48%, and the likelihood of stunting has decreased by 52%.

In relation to the attribution of the impact of this donation, more than 11,400 children in Chipata can now access health services through their school health rooms.