Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness Programme

Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness Programme

Subject: Government Schemes

Concept:

• It has been nearly three years since the School Health and Wellness Programme was launched under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, and so far only 15 of India’s States – less than half – have started weekly 40-minute classroom sessions with student

About the Programme:

• The School Health Programme (SHP) under Ayushman Bharat was launched by the Prime Minister in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
• It is a joint collaborative programme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (now Ministry of Education).
• Vision:
  • The initiative targets both Education and Health and intends to facilitate an integrated approach to health programming and more effective learning at the school level.
• Major Roles:
  • Under the programme teachers act as “Health and Wellness Ambassadors” and disseminate various key information by organising culturally sensitive activity based sessions for one hour per week for 24 weeks in a year to promote joyful learning.
  • Further, the students act as Health and Wellness Messengers in the society. And every Tuesday is dedicated as Health and Wellness Day in the schools.
• Themes:
  • The Programme is based on the 11 identified themes.
  • Some of them are emotional wellbeing, interpersonal relationships, responsible citizenship, gender equality, reproductive health, HIV prevention, safety and security against violence and promotion of safe use of the internet.
• Linked with SDGs:
  • The Ministry of Human Resource Development (Ministry of education) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) along with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) have also developed curriculum framework and training material for training of nodal teachers, in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG- 3).
  • SDG 3 aspires to ensure health and well-being for all.