Abstract

School aged children in Nigeria tend to face a lot of challenges especially in their overall development such as exposure to diseases and many other conditions that can affect their ability .This study therefore evaluates the implementation of the school health programme among schools in Bwari Area Council, FCT.The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional study design. The 20 schools were randomly selected using the multi-stage sampling technique. The qualitative and quantitative method was used for data collection. The Key Informant Interview was conducted among the 20 school Head teachers, while a validated questionnaire was used to collect data from the 120 teachers and students from the selected 20 schools. Data from the Key Informant Interview was analyzed using the thematic approach. The result from the study showed 57.5% and 64.7% of respondents (teachers & students) respectively were female, 87.5% (teachers) had BSc, while 56.7% had 1-5 years teaching experience. 42.5% of students were in primary 6. The mean age of the teacher was 32.5±5.34, while students was 11.2±2.06. The awareness of the School Health Programme and National School Health Policy among teachers and head teachers was poor with a prevalence of 28.67%. Also, 50% of the schools’ first aid boxes were not adequate and needed to be equipped.Reported reasons for this condition were attributed to the lack of funding, lack of basic facilities, weak monitoring and implementation by the government, lack of political will and awareness of school health programme among head teachers, Although the measures put in place are routine inspection, daily sanitation routine and monitoring of food vendors.In conclusion, the study showed that awareness of the school health programme and national school health policy was poor. The components of the school health programme of the schools visited were poorly implemented. Reported reasons were attributed to the lack of funding, lack of basicfacilities, weak monitoring and implementation by the government and lack of political will. Concerning efforts to improve the implementation of school health programme, awareness programme and training should be conducted for the head teachers and provision of funds and facilities should be made available.