Urbani School Health Kit
Teacher's Guide
Urbani School Health Kit
World Health Organization Western Pacific Region
Urbani School Health Kit
Teacher's Guide
Urbani School Health Kit
World Health Organization Western Pacific Region
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 1
Research shows that major causes of death, disease and disability can be 1 significantly reduced by targeting just a handful of risk factors , many of which are preventable. These risk factors can be addressed by developing healthy behaviours early in life. It is particularly important to educate children about: ! Personal hygiene ! Clean environment ! Food and water safety ! Proper nutrition ! Sexual and reproductive health ! Physical activity ! Saying no to tobacco, drugs and alcohol Children must develop healthy habits while they are young. The best way to cure diseases is to prevent them. When children are healthy, they have a greater capacity to learn and achieve their full potentials. With a good education, they can aim for a better quality of life, and better health, overall. The school is one of the best places where health education and health promotion can take place. Children spend a great deal of time in this setting. They enter school open to learning new things. They have teachers as guides and role models. Schools are clean and safe environments where each child is encouraged to develop vital life skills. A health promoting school is one that constantly strengthens its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working. An effective school health programme can be one of the most cost effective investments a nation can make to simultaneously improve education and health. A health promoting school is a place where all members of the school community work together to provide students with integrated and positive 1
Why should we promote health in schools?
Read more about major risk factors for disease and injury around the world: WHO. (2005). Comparative Quantification of Health Risks. Geneva: WHO.
page 2
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
experiences and structures which promote and protect their health. These include: ! Formal and informal curricula in health ! Creation of a safe and healthy school environment ! Provision of appropriate health services ! Involvement of the family and wider community in efforts to promote health2 A health promoting school: ! Fosters health and learning with all the measures at its disposal. ! Engages health and education officials, teachers, teachers' organizations, students, parents, health providers and community leaders in efforts to make the school a healthy place. ! Strives to provide a healthy environment, school health education, and school health services along with school/community projects and outreach, health promotion programmes for staff, nutrition and food safety programmes, opportunities for physical education and recreation, and programmes for counseling, social support and mental health promotion. ! Implements policies and practices that respect an individual's well being and dignity, provides multiple opportunities for success, and acknowledges good efforts and intentions as well as personal achievements. ! Strives to improve the health of school personnel, families and community members as well as pupils; and works with community leaders to help them understand how the community contributes to, or undermines, health and education.3 Health promoting schools focus on: ! Caring for oneself and others ! Making healthy decisions and taking control over life's circumstances 2
3
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (1996).Regional guidelines for the Development of healthpromoting schools: A Framework for Action. Manila: WHO/WPRO. WHO. (1996). Health Promoting Schools. Accessed 20 January 2006 from http://www.who.int/ school_youth_health/gshi/hps/en/index.html
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 3
! !
!
!
Creating conditions that are conducive to health (through policies, services, physical / social conditions) Building capacities for peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, equity, social justice, sustainable development. Preventing leading causes of death, disease and disability: helminths (worms), tobacco use, HIV/AIDS/STDs, sedentary lifestyle, drugs and alcohol, violence and injuries, unhealthy nutrition. Influencing health-related behaviours: knowledge, beliefs, skills, attitudes, values, support.
The Global School Health Initiative WHO's Global School Health Initiative, launched in 1995, seeks to mobilise and strengthen health promotion and education activities at the local, national, regional and global levels. The Initiative is designed to improve the health of students, school personnel, families and other members of the community through schools. The goal of WHO's Global School Health Initiative is to increase the number of schools that can truly be called "Health-Promoting Schools". Although definitions will vary, depending on need and circumstance, a Health-Promoting School can be characterised as a school constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working. The general direction of WHO's Global School Health Initiative is guided by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986); the Jakarta Declaration of the Fourth International Conference on Health Promotion(1997); and the WHO's Expert Committee Recommendation on Comprehensive School Health Education and Promotion (1995) [See Annex A]. Read more about the Global School Health Initiative at http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/gshi/en/
page 4
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
Why me?
As a teacher: ! You can observe the health status and development of children ! You can talk to children about their pains and problems ! You can exert a positive influence on children's lifestyle and behaviour ! You are identified with successful activities or community campaigns ! You are widely known to support activities for the common good ! You are recognized as a positive influence on society ! You are respected in the community ! You can mobilize others to help You are in an excellent position to champion health promotion.
How can I start?
You don't need to be a health expert in order to promote health. What is more important is to start with a positive, inquiring and caring attitude. This will spur you to: Visit your local health center or an office of the Ministry of Health and request copies of posters, brochures and reading materials about your community's health concerns. Ask colleagues what they believe are the most pressing health problems of the community. Ask children what diseases they are most afraid of. Look for other reliable sources of information such as health magazines, and radio or television programs. If you have access to computers and the Internet, the website of the World Health Organization (www.who.int) is a good place to start. In the Reference pages of this book you will find both print and online resources about the Global School Health Initiative and how to develop health promoting schools.
Find out about the most important health problems in your community
Be a role model for health promotion
You play a critical role in shaping and moulding the behaviour and values of young children. It is important that teachers practice what they preach and demonstrate how healthy lifestyles can be achieved. Children like to watch, observe, talk about and imitate what their teachers do.
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 5
You do not have to have perfect health or live a perfect lifestyle to promote health. In fact, your own quest for better health could be a source of inspiration for children and colleagues. If you smoke, take part in a campaign to promote smoke-free places and smoking cessation. If you are overweight, take the lead in healthy diet and physical activity promotion. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, talk to children about how this has affected your life, and about how you intend to make changes for the better so that you can enjoy many more happy years as a teacher. Soon enough, you will feel the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. You will be more confident about promoting healthy behaviours. Your students will also see that you are sincere in your efforts to achieve better health not only for yourself but also for them. Together with other teachers, school officials and parents, develop a vision statement on how your school can promote health. Make an action plan to show what you hope to achieve each school year. Engage the participation of groups that directly impact on your health campaigns, such as food vendors, cleaning and maintenance staff, owners of establishments that children patronize, non-government organizations. Work with health providers, health ministry personnel and community leaders. In some cases, a town or city ordinance can act as the solid foundation for a school health campaign. Make health a focus of school-wide activities. Align these with global campaigns such as World Health Day or World No-Tobacco Day. Invite school and local government officials to view student presentations and exhibits. This resource book contains resources and lesson plan tips that you can adopt for classroom use. Use these as starting points for the development of activities that best suit your students and your setting. Affirm the efforts of students who engage in healthy behaviours. Develop a system of rewards to recognize students who excel in health promotion activities.
Advocate the creation of a supportive environment in your school that will encourage children to make healthy choices
Develop creative ways to help children understand the importance of healthy living, and take action to improve their own health
page 6
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
Explore how health promotion can be linked to the topics that you teach
You can promote health whatever subject you teach. As a science teacher, you can discuss health topics—such as the importance of a well-balanced diet, regular physical activity, avoidance of harmful substances like tobacco and alcohol, principles of sexual and reproductive health—in relation to biological systems and chemical processes. Students should be able to see that scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of lifestyle change in the prevention of chronic disease. As a social studies teacher, describe how health is a product of a dynamic interaction between human beings, their environment, and other determinants of health. Society, culture, belief and tradition have an impact on health and the quality of life. Explain how health behaviours are rooted in traditional belief systems, and how behaviours are changing. Broaden children's perspectives by illustrating how different communities and populations can achieve similar health and development goals even if they do things differently. Advocate a holistic model of health which includes the interrelationships between the physical, mental, social and environmental aspects of health. Many “social ills” are actually health problems—drug use, teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, violence, and risk taking behaviour leading to death or disability. In discussing solutions to these social problems, you are also promoting health. As a mathematics teacher, use health concepts in math problems. For example, ask students to count calories in their usual diet and compare the average to their recommended daily intake. Express health statistics in ways that children can understand. As an art or language teacher, focus on health as a theme for creative work in whatever form. Here are a few ideas: Essay - “How did you feel when someone close to you became ill?” Poetry - “Write a poem about how waste in the environment makes our water and food unsafe” Painting/drawing - “Draw a picture of a healthy child” Dance - “Create a dance that will make people exercise more”
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 7
Song Sculpture Drama Interactive multimedia
- “Create a song that will make young people say NO to drugs” - “Create a sculpture to show how trash makes our environment unhealthy” - “Show how you will talk to your father (or mother) to tell him (or her) to stop smoking” - “Create a website that links to various resources on good nutrition”
A health promotion lesson can range from a big project to be done over several class meetings, a ten-minute game (like many of the examples in this book), or a quick check on whether your students have clean fingernails. The important thing is to make sure that a key health message is imparted to children everyday. Constant gentle reminders help children develop healthy habits. The accompanying Resource Books can help you teach key issues concerning the health and wellness of schoolchildren, such as: ! Promoting good personal hygiene ! Creating a clean and safe environment ! Preventing worm infections ! Promoting healthy food choices ! Promoting oral health ! Preventing tobacco use ! Preventing malaria and dengue These key issues can be discussed as part of the formal curriculum in “Health and Science” or they can be integrated in other subjects. They can also be discussed as special topics during the school term. Because you know your students and your context best, you are in the best position to determine the ways by which you can integrate this material into your curriculum. Aside from the key issues featured here, you might want to discuss other health topics that are important to the school and the community. In which case, you are encouraged to look for relevant information sources and then design lessons similar to the examples provided. By no means are the
Have at least one health promotion lesson everyday
How will I use the Resource Books?
page 8
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
techniques and strategies rigid or prescriptive. You, as the teacher, will determine which topics are most relevant, what information and skills should be learned by students, and what activities they would find most fun and engaging. For each key issue, specific learning objectives, key messages, learning activities, materials/resources and relevant reading materials are described so that you can easily design an appropriate lesson for your students
Learning Objectives Learning objectives specify the knowledge, skills and attitudes that should be attained by schoolchildren after completing a lesson. Learning objectives are specified for younger (ages 5 to 9) and older schoolchildren (ages 10 to 12). These can be modified depending on student readiness. The learning objectives are a vital tool in evaluating the outcomes of the lessons.
Key Messages The key messages focus the discussion for each issue. Key messages are the concepts that you would like children to remember and bring home to tell their parents and siblings. These health education messages are derived from WHO publications and other reliable sources. Although there are many creative ways to teach key messages (as you will see from the discussion on Learning Activities), it is important to convey these messages as a unit. For example, in the campaign promoting personal hygiene called “A Clean and Healthy Me”, there are 10 skills that children should learn: ! proper hand washing ! daily bathing ! keeping hair clean and neat ! wearing clean clothes ! wearing shoes or slippers ! brushing teeth ! cutting long fingernails ! covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing ! not spitting in public places ! using own drinking cup and utensils
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 9
While you may want to focus on one skill, such as proper hand washing, your health promotion effort will not be effective in preventing spread of infections if children will not learn the other skills. Learning activities are individual or group activities that offer opportunities for presenting key messages, demonstrating skills, and applying concepts and principles learned. Learning activities can be done indoors or outdoors and are designed for specific age groups. Examples of indoor activities are storytelling, role playing, board games, and puppet shows. Outdoor activities include field trips, explorations, and running games. Another type of activity is the class exhibit where you can display posters, children's artwork, and other outputs from learning activities. Exhibits can serve as the centerpiece of an awareness campaign regarding the key issues. The Resource Books also contain ideas for school-wide activities such as school health fairs. A health fair can be an annual event, or it can be held periodically, in conjunction with global health campaigns. For example, activities about “Choosing Healthy Foods” can be held during the Nutrition Month (July). Activities about oral health can be held on “National Smile Week” (August 6-12). The learning activities in the Resource Books are designed to allow easy implementation in a variety of contexts. Even with very limited access to resources, you should still be able to perform the activities. Materials are specified but there is much room for substitution and improvisation. The Resource Books contain core information to support the key health messages. In addition, you will find a list of references for further reading.
Learning Activities
Materials/Resources
Relevant Reading Materials
page 10
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
How will I know if I'm doing this right?
Evaluation is an important part of any health program in order to gauge success and to work towards further improvement. Annex B: Checkpoints for Health Promoting Teachers, contains an evaluation tool that you can use to measure success and identify difficulties. Fill up the form at the end of the school term or after completing a major activity and use it to guide subsequent efforts. Always check whether you are successful in imparting health messages and effecting behavioural change. For example, ask students these questions at the beginning of the class: “What is a healthy diet?” “What did you have for breakfast this morning? Do you think that was a healthy breakfast?” “How many of you regularly eat healthy meals at home?” After a lesson on healthy food choices, ask the class: “What is a healthy diet?” (Their answers should be much improved at this point.) “How many of you will choose to eat a healthy lunch today?” “How many of you will talk to your parents about how you need healthy food?” During the next class meeting, ask: “How many of you had healthy servings from the basic food groups yesterday?” “How many of you were able to talk to your parents about healthy food? Tell us about it.” Periodically ask such questions so that good behaviours are reinforced and retained. It is important to ask yourself: What are my criteria for success? For example, in teaching children about oral health, list the goals you want to achieve, such as: ! All my students understand that it's important to keep their teeth healthy. ! They have their own toothbrush.
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 11
! ! ! ! ! !
They are able to brush their teeth properly. They brush their teeth at least twice a day every day. They know that sweets can damage their teeth. They do their best to avoid sweets. A school dentist checks the children's teeth once a year. Parents show that they are concerned about their children's oral health (for example, by reminding them to brush their teeth before bedtime).
If you can answer yes to all these parameters then you are confident in saying that your health promotion effort is a success! You can also take a research-oriented approach. Examine baseline data such as surveys done by local health authorities or school officials. You can also conduct surveys among your students. After a year of health campaigns, compare survey results with baseline data. If you are interested in national data as well as international comparisons, refer to the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS; available at the WHO website). This is a collaborative surveillance project designed to help countries measure and assess the behavioural risk factors and protective factors in 10 key areas among young people aged 13 to 15. Check to see whether your own community's statistics are better than the national average. For example, the GSHS includes the question: “During the past 30 days, on how many days did you smoke cigarettes?” If the national average is 6 to 9 days, then you are doing very well if you could bring down the number to zero in your own school. It is very important to involve other teachers and school officials in health promotion campaigns. If activities are dependent on the enthusiasm and commitment of only a few teachers or an individual school administrator, positive changes are unlikely to be sustained. ! Document your experiences. Keep a record of your lesson plans and activities; preserve examples of students' projects; take
How can I share my experiences with other teachers?
page 12
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
!
!
! ! !
!
photographs or record videos during school health fairs. Every time other teachers ask about your work, you will have a wealth of materials to show them. Maintain a bulletin board in an area of the school that is often visited by teachers. Fill it with information about how your school can promote health. Include teachers' resources, posters on global health campaigns, and photos of your students doing health related activities. You can also create a version of this bulletin board on your school's website. Take every opportunity to tell colleagues about your experiences. You can do this during school meetings and teachers' conferences. Send reports to school supervisors or to the Ministry of Education. They like hearing success stories and are always on the lookout for ways to improve services. Participate in online special interest groups, like discussion boards, email lists and chat rooms for teachers. Publish your work in magazines and journals for teachers. Invite the media (print, radio and television) to cover school health activities. A feature story on your activities might inspire other teachers to build their own health promoting schools. Create a network of health promoting teachers and health promoting schools. Together, you can: 4 Pool expertise 4 Share information, resources and experiences 4 Decide on future directions such as scaling-up classroom activities and replicating success in other settings 4 Reinforce the health promoting school concept 4 Provide advice and support to new health promoting teachers and schools 4 Monitor the progress of health promoting schools in your country or region 4 Have a common voice on health issues
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 13
ANNEX A 1. Investment in schooling must be improved and expanded. 2. The full educational participation of girls must be expanded. 3. Every school must provide a safe learning environment for students and a safe workplace for staff. 4. Every school must enable children and adolescents at all levels to learn critical health and life skills. 5. Every school must more effectively serve as an entry point for health promotion and a location for health intervention. 6. Policies, legislation and guidelines must be developed to ensure the identification, allocation, mobilization and coordination of resources at the local, national and international levels to support school health. 7. Teachers and school staff must be properly valued and provided with the necessary support to enable them to promote health. 8. The community and the school must work together to support health and education. 9. School health programmes must be well-designed, monitored and evaluated to ensure their successful implementation and outcomes. 10. International support must be further developed to enhance the ability of Member States, local communities and schools to promote health and education.
Recommendations of the WHO Expert Committee on Comprehensive School Health Education and Promotion (Geneva, Switzerland, 18-22 September 1995)
page 14
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
ANNEX B
Checkpoints for Health Promoting Teachers
4
In the last ____ weeks/months, I was able to do the following health promoting activities: Key messages Best part of the experience Parts that need improvement Number of students
Date
Activity
4
Based on: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (1996). Components and Checkpoints for Health Promoting Schools. Regional guidelines for the Development of health-promoting schools: A Framework for Action. Manila: WHO/WPRO.
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 15
Based on the above experiences, I can say that: Id thi id no sa tc o t It h all nside o r bu ugh td idn t abo 't d ut Ih o m it a w i d so uc th m thi e s h uc c s Id ess id ve r yw ell Sta nd ing ov ati on !
I taught health topics that are relevant to my students. I presented health topics in interesting and engaging ways. I helped students relate health topics to their own experiences. I helped students gain a basic understanding of health issues. I gave students opportunities to gain skills with respect to health issues. (For example, skills in maintaining oral hygiene in relation to their lesson on oral health.)
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5
68-75 Great job! You are a model health promoting teacher. Find ways to sustain your efforts over the long term. Students, their families and the community will benefit greatly from your initiative.
56-67 1 2 3 4 5
I helped students acquire higher-order thinking skills with a view to enhancing their own wellbeing. (These skills include problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication, developing interpersonal relationships, coping with emotions and stress, and critical and creative thinking.)
1
2
3
4
5
You did well but there are many points for improvement. Note those areas where you scored relatively low and focus on how you can do those tasks better.
45-56 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
I emphasized student participation. I designed learning activities that are appropriate for my students. I allocated sufficient time per week to health. I continuously improve myself to better fulfill my role as a health promoting teacher. I was able to access health resources. I used health resources in developing health promotion activities. I involved parents in health promotion activities. I shared my experiences with other teachers and school officials. I shared my experiences with key health and education personnel, and local community leaders.
That was a good effort but there is room for improvement. Don't lose heart; now that you know your weak points, you can work to make them stronger.
Less than 45 Your approach towards health promotion needs to be re-evaluated. Now that you know the criteria for a model health promoting teacher, you can revise your strategies.
Add up your score:
_________
page 16
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
REFERENCES Global School Health Initiative A description of the GSHI and its strategies http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/gshi/en/ Health promoting schools A description of the focus and activities of health promoting schools http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/gshi/hps/en/index.html A Primer on Health Promotion for Teachers Published by the Health Promotion Unit of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (2004), it describes how health promotion in schools can address risk factors common to major noncommunicable (chronic) diseases Global school-based student health survey (GSHS) A collaborative surveillance project designed to help countries measure and assess the behavioural risk factors and protective factors in 10 key areas among young people aged 13 to 15 http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/assessment/gshs/en/index.html WHO Information Series on School Health http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/resources/information_series/en/i ndex.html Creating an environment for emotional and social well-being: an important responsibility of a health-promoting and child friendly school The organizations publishing this document offer this publication as a useful tool to help shape a healthy, safe and friendly environment for all who live, learn and work in schools. This document is available in the following languages: English [pdf 709kb] | Chinese [pdf 2,026kb] Family life, reproductive health, and population education: key elements of a healthpromoting school The purpose of this document is to strengthen efforts to educate young people about family life, reproductive health, and population issues and to prevent related health problems, such as unintended and early pregnancies, HIV/STI, and sexual violence. English [pdf 404kb]
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 17
Healthy nutrition: an essential element of a health-promoting school This document reveals how nutrition interventions in schools benefit the entire community, and how healthy eating contributes to decreasing the risks of today's leading health problems. This document is available in the following languages: English [pdf 270kb] | Chinese [pdf 3,248kb] Improving health through schools: national and international strategies This document includes a chapter on national strategies in the ten most populous countries and a chapter on collaborative efforts to strengthen school health promotion in countries with large school-age populations. English [pdf 8.65Mb] Local Action: Creating Health-Promoting Schools This document will assist school and community leaders in efforts that promote the health of young people through schools. It provides practical guidance, tools and descriptions of and tips from Health-Promoting Schools around the world. This document is available in the following languages: English [pdf 502kb] | French [pdf 556kb] Oral health promotion through schools This document, part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Information Series on School Health, is intended to help people use health promotion strategies to improve oral health. English [pdf 821kb] | Chinese [pdf 852kb] Preventing HIV/AIDS/STDs and related discrimination: an important responsibility of health-promoting schools This document exhibits that HIV prevention programmes are effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection among young people. It explains why schools must accept the responsibility to educate their community members and work with them to determine the most appropriate and effective ways to prevent HIV infection among young people. English [pdf 2.84Mb] Skills-based health education and life skills The purpose of this document is to define key concepts and explain how skills-based health education, including life skills, fits into the broader context of what schools can do to improve education and health. This document is available in the following languages: Arabic (cover and preface) [pdf 91kb] | Chinese [pdf 6,104kb] | English [pdf 423kb] | Russian [pdf 1.19Mb]
page 18
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
Strengthening interventions to reduce helminth infections: an entry point for the development of health-promoting schools Research and case studies have proven that schools are a remarkably efficient means to prevent and reduce helminth (worm) infections. This document shows how helminth reduction interventions can have a positive impact on children's health, learning potential and school attendance. English [pdf 3.03Mb] Sun protection: an essential element of a health promoting school This document is intended to help schools use health promotion strategies to reduce the incidence of harmful effects from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. English [pdf 144kb] Teacher's exercise book for HIV prevention This manual provides resources (including fact sheets and accurate information and data about HIV and STIs) and examples of interactive skill-building activities. This document is available in the following languages: English [pdf 2.78Mb] | French [pdf 1.15Mb] The physical school environment: an essential component of a health-promoting school This document discusses a range of environmental conditions that exist in a variety of school environments. It presents strategies to improve the health, education and development of children, families, and community members and aims to help communities recognize, manage, and avoid physical, chemical and biological threats that may exist in or near their schools. Chinese [pdf 502kb] | English [pdf 973kb] Tobacco use prevention: an important entry point for the development of a healthpromoting school This paper demonstrates that tobacco use prevention programmes have a positive impact on the health of children and adolescents and that comprehensive tobacco use prevention programmes in schools work and effectively reduce tobacco consumption. English [pdf 3.15Mb] Violence prevention: an important element of a health-promoting school This document explains how violence affects the well being and learning potential of millions of children around the world. It provides interventions that can reduce violence through schools. English [pdf 298kb]
Urbani School Health Kit TEACHER'S GUIDE
page 19
WHO's Global School Health Initiative: health-promoting schools This document provides an overview of WHO's Global School Health Initiative. English [pdf 530kb]
Dr CARLO URBANI was born October 19th 1956 in Castelplanio Italy. He obtained his degree in Medicine in 1981 from the University of Ancona, then later specialised in tropical and infectious diseases at the University of Messina. Until 1985, he worked at the University of Ancona where he undertook specific research in parasitology. In 1993, he became an adviser at the World Health Organization (WHO) to control schistosomiasis and other parasitic diseases. As an adviser to the WHO, he provided technical support to the government of Mauritania and other West African countries. In 1996-1997, he co-ordinated a project with Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) in Cambodia to control parasitic diseases. At this time he started a national program to control the incidence of helminthiasis. He also started collaborative work with the Swiss Tropical Institute to define a better strategy for parasitic disease control in South East Asia. In 1997 he returned to Italy to his position at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Hospital of Macerata, but still stayed in close co-operation with the WHO and MSF. In September of 1998, he became an official advisor to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office and went on temporary assignments to Viet Nam and Cambodia as well as the Philippines. During this period, he was the Italian National VicePresident for MSF. He was then elected President of MSF in 1999. As a member of the international council of MSF, he received on their behalf the Nobel Prize for Peace in Oslo 1999. In March of 2000, he co-ordinated advanced training on tropical medicine together with the MSF and the Foundation de Carnerie and the Macerata Hospital.
In April of 2000 he accepted a position as a WHO medical expert for the Western Pacific Region based in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. He provided assistance to regional countries to control malaria, as well as other parasitic diseases that were the main focus for the region. He continuously traveled to Cambodia, China, Laos and the Philippines. He collaborated in different research papers that were published in international medical literature, and he participated in conferences in Bangkok, Tokyo, Belgium, Geneva, and Rome. Dr Urbani was the first person to discover an unusual form of pneumonia that was later named as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Because of his actions, the outbreak of SARS in Viet Nam was largely contained. His efforts prevented many cases from arising, particularly among hospital staff. However, it was during this work that Dr Urbani contracted SARS and sadly died on 29 March 2003. Dr Urbani developed a concept that schools could be provided with a kit to assist teachers with tools for educating children about prevention of health problems and to implement appropriate interventions where a problem is present. He started the kit with tools to deworm children, but conceived it as a box large enough to add other tools to address problems like anaemia, iodine deficiency, water safety, oral hygiene and so on, based on the needs identified by each school. This integrated package concept has been developed at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific to cover a number of health issues for health education and health promotion in schools. In recognition of Dr Carlo Urbani's work in Public Health it has been named the "Urbani School Health Kit."
As a teacher: ! You can observe the health status and development of children ! You can talk to children about their pains and problems ! You can exert a positive influence on children's lifestyle and behaviour ! You are identified with successful activities or community campaigns ! You are widely known to support activities for the common good ! You are recognized as a positive influence on society ! You are respected in the community ! You can mobilize others to help You are in an excellent position to champion health promotion.
Urbani www.wpro.who.int School Health Kit