Zambia Shares School Health Lessons with Malawi

By Alain Kabinda

For a child, being sick can mean more than missing a day in the classroom.

Repeated illness can mean falling behind in lessons, missing examinations, losing confidence and, in some cases, eventually dropping out of school.

But Zambia is seeking to change that reality by bringing health services closer to where children spend much of their day — the school.

Since the implementation of its school health programme in 2014, Zambia has increasingly integrated health interventions into the education system, with officials saying the approach has helped address illnesses among learners and reduce health-related absenteeism.

The experience is now attracting interest from neighbouring Malawi, whose education and health officials are in Zambia on a learning visit to understand how the country's school health programme is being implemented.

The workshop in Lusaka, hosted in collaboration with Healthy Learners, has brought together officials from the two countries to exchange experiences on school health, nutrition, teacher training, health services, data and coordination between government ministries.

Speaking during the workshop in Lusaka Zambia Ministry of Education Assistant Director for School Health and Nutrition Maybin Luulu, said that the programme has demonstrated the importance of putting health services within reach of learners.

Mr Luulu said the programme has recorded visible successes since its introduction, particularly in addressing diseases and reducing absenteeism among learners.

He said some health conditions can be identified and treated within schools, while learners requiring additional attention can be referred through the established health system.

He also said, that children do not necessarily have to lose valuable learning time simply because they require medical attention.

“The programme has helped to reduce disease and has helped to reduce absenteeism,” Mr Luulu said.

He explained that the availability of health interventions within schools has also changed the way learners respond to health challenges.

Rather than waiting until a condition becomes severe, learners can receive assistance at school or be connected to appropriate health facilities.

Mr Luulu said Zambia was proud to share its experience with Malawi but emphasised that the exchange was intended to be a two-way learning process.

“We are glad to have the Malawian delegation here to look at how our programme works,” he said, adding that Zambia would also learn from Malawi's experience.

And according to Ministry of Health National Coordinator for School Health and Nutrition Dr Brian Mulubwa, is partly rooted in collaboration between government ministries.

He said the Ministry of Health provides technical support to teachers, including curriculum and training packages that enable them to deliver health education and appropriate health services within schools.

The ministry also monitors implementation of school health programmes and interacts with data generated from schools.

Dr Mulubwa said the involvement of the Ministry of Local Government was also important because of its role in supporting infrastructure under Zambia's decentralised system.

He said the three ministries working together had made it easier to implement school health interventions.

“Working together with the Ministry of Education has made the implementation of the school health programme simpler. Rather than working in silos, we are able to leverage the already existing resources for the benefit of the children,” Dr Mulubwa said.

The approach illustrates a fundamental shift in the way school health is being viewed — not as the responsibility of the health sector alone, but as a shared responsibility involving education, local authorities, teachers, health workers and communities.

Meanwhile Health Learners Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Lonnie Hackett, said tat Malawi's interest in Zambia's experience is a significant milestone in the development of the programme.

Mr Hackett recalled that the journey began around 2017 or 2018, when the programme was operating in only about 10 schools in Zambia.

During that period, Zambia undertook a learning visit to Japan to understand how school health programmes were being implemented there.

The expectation was that Zambia would eventually develop an approach that other countries could learn from.

Mr Hackett, however, said the relationship should not be viewed as a one-directional transfer of knowledge.

He said Zambia also has much to learn from Malawi's long experience and commitment to school health and nutrition.

He described the partnership as being driven by a shared belief that children should have access to both education and healthcare.

“Every child deserves the right to health and the right to a quality education,” Mr Hackett said.

He said children who become sick should not simply be sent home without support.

Such an environment, he said, helps children understand that they matter and that their health and education are important.

And Malawi Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Director of Inclusive Education and School Health Nutrition Ms.Virginia Kachigunda said the delegation was also prepared to share lessons from Malawi.

                                                            Ms. Virginia Kachigunda

She said Malawi already has a well-coordinated school health and nutrition programme in which the Ministry of Health plays a major supporting role.

Ms Kachigunda said the education sector provides teachers and educators, while the health sector provides specialised personnel, services and referral pathways.

She stressed that the two sectors must work together because education cannot succeed when learners are unhealthy.

“Our learners cannot learn if they are unhealthy. We cannot, as education, educate,” she said.

Ms Kachigunda said Malawi was therefore pleased that health workers were supporting efforts to strengthen interventions in the country.

She said the partnership could help reach more learners with health services and strengthen programmes already operating in Malawi.

Beyond reducing illness and absenteeism, the two countries see school health as an investment in national development.

Ms Kachigunda said healthy learners were more likely to become productive citizens capable of contributing to the development of Zambia and Malawi.

She said education should not be viewed simply as an end in itself, but as a tool for developing individuals and societies.

“We want to give them [education] in school not only as an end in itself, but as a means towards developing Zambia, developing Malawi,” she said.

The Malawian official also praised Zambia for turning lessons from its study visit to Japan into practical interventions.

She challenged officials undertaking international learning visits to ensure that the knowledge acquired is translated into meaningful changes when they return home.

The Zambia-Malawi exchange ultimately raises a broader question about what it means to create a school environment where children can genuinely learn.

A child who is hungry, sick or unable to access basic health services faces barriers that cannot be solved by a teacher alone.

Likewise, health workers cannot fully address children's needs without the cooperation of schools, teachers, communities and education authorities.

This is why the two countries are increasingly looking towards integrated approaches that bring the health and education sectors together.

For Zambia, the experience since 2014 offers lessons on what can happen when government resources and expertise are brought together around the needs of the child.

For Malawi, the learning visit provides an opportunity to identify approaches that can strengthen its existing school health and nutrition programmes.

And for the children at the centre of these efforts, the intended outcome is straightforward: fewer days lost to illness, better access to health services and a greater chance to remain in school and learn.

As Zambia shares its experience and Malawi contributes its own lessons, the two neighbouring countries are demonstrating that improving education may begin with something as fundamental as ensuring that children are healthy enough to learn.

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