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Education Success Stories
 School Health
and Nutrition Interventions Lead to Positive Behavior Change
Precious Banda is a grade six pupil in a Chipata District Basic School
who was viewed by her teachers as a quiet girl who participated little
in school and often fell asleep at her desk. She was also frequently absent.
When she was in school she was usually found on the sidelines in school
sports activities. When the school began participating in the pilot School
Health and Nutrition (SHN) interventions, a sample of pupils were tested
for worms and bilharzia. Precious was among those tested and was found
positive for bilharzia and roundworms. The bilharzia rate in the district
was found to be very high with some schools having a 70% positive rate.
Precious received treatment for bilharzia and worms and was also given
Vitamin A and started on a ten-week course of iron supplementation.
Several weeks after the treatment program, SHN program staff interviewed
the headmaster and class teachers as part of the monitoring process. The
headmaster immediately recalled how Precious, in particular, was like
a new person. She was now active in class, frequently raising her hand
to answer questions instead of sleeping or staying away from school; her
participation in sports had also improved. The class teachers were also
enthusiastic about the effect of the SHN program, noting the general level
of performance after the mass treatment of the entire school was undertaken.
Precious is just one example of how immediate and dramatic the impact
of the SHN program has been. Teachers, parents, and the whole community
have observed the positive effects. The impact is equally important for
the MOE Provincial and district staff who see the results and are responsible
for supporting and sustaining the program over time. Word of the change
in Precious and other pupils has spread rapidly throughout communities,
and now there is a demand for treatment by others, even among children
not attending school. The success achieved so far should have a very positive
effect on parents encouraging school attendance. Other districts have
also heard of the success of the SHN pilot activities and are now asking
when their districts will be included in the program.
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