Healthy Learners

Healthy Learners improves children's health through a school-based community health programme. Working in partnership with the Government of Zambia, it trains and equips teachers as School Health Workers – giving them the skills, tools and support to assess, treat and refer sick children during the school day. The programme now reaches over 1.2 million children across 882 schools in all 10 of Zambia's provinces, and has been adopted as national policy with dedicated government budget lines. Designed to be affordable, scalable and government-owned, Healthy Learners aims to make Zambia a model for how governments across the region can sustainably improve the health of school-age children.

healthylearners.org | Partner since 2019

Challenge

In Zambia, 40% of school-age children suffer from preventable and treatable diseases like malaria, respiratory infections, worm infestations and diarrhoea. Untreated, these conditions impact their physical, cognitive and emotional development, resulting in poor academic performance, school absenteeism and early dropout - particularly for girls. Yet despite high primary school enrolment, this age group receives fewer health touchpoints than younger children, falling through the cracks of systems that tend to focus on children under five.

Response

Healthy Learners works with the Government of Zambia's Ministries of Health and Education to train and equip teachers as School Health Workers. Supported by an offline-first digital tool that guides assessment, treatment and referral, these teachers monitor students' health, treat mild conditions and refer children who need further care to health facilities – ensuring sick children are identified and treated quickly. Each school also establishes a dedicated health room where children can rest and receive care. The programme is now national policy in Zambia, with dedicated government budget lines. Healthy Learners’ School Health Program aims to reach 3 million learners across Zambia by 2028.