Model for Sustainable and Scalable School Health

The Fit for School Programmein West Java began in 2012 with the identification of model schools, followed by school community orientations and the construction of group washing facilities. Experiences in implementing the programmewere initially shared between schools through Implementers Forums, and eventually between cities and provinces in provincial and national events. By 2014, the experiences were consolidated into a School Community Manual, which was formally endorsed by the Directorate of Basic Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) in 2017 as a guidebook for promoting Clean and Healthy Lifestyle (Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat or PHBS) among students. In 2018, content from the manual was integrated into the MOEC Manual for Elementary School Sanitation Development.

In 2016, the FIT Programmesupported the development of the online Performance Recognition System (POROS) for WinS and School Health (Usaha Kesehatan Sekolah or UKS) of the City of Bandung. During the 5^th WinS International Learning Exchange, provincial delegates from all over Indonesia were familiarized with POROS as a model for smart city management of WinS at scale by the City of Bandung.

Alignment and integration in national efforts

The FIT Programmein Indonesia in collaboration with UNICEF and RECFON currently supports the MOEC in rolling out the Guidelines for Elementary School Sanitation Development and its agenda for WinS and UKS.  The Programmewill continue to provide technical assistance for managing WinS at the national level and facilitate learning exchange among the countries in the region.

Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation

Indonesia was part of the Regional Fit for School Program Assessment Study, a 2-year longitudinal cohort study that aims to determine the effects of the program einterventions on health status, school attendance, and WASH indicators in schools. The University of Padjadjaran and University of Indonesia, and government partners conducted the data collection with support from the GIZ FIT team. The data collection by government partners aimed at building national research capacity and increasing ownership of results. In summary, the findings from the study are:

School Health Situation in Bandung & Indramayu, West Java	Benefits of the FIT Programme
High prevalence of thinness (1 out of 4 children) Growing burden of obesity (1 out of 5 children) High prevalence of dental caries (almost 100%) Low prevalence of worm infections (2 out of 100 children)	Significantly improves access to handwashing facilities, water and soap Stimulates healthy hygiene practices, such as the practice of individual handwashing with soap at critical times Contributes to a general culture of cleanliness Prevents the increment of dental caries by 20%

In 2016, SEAMEO INNOTECH and GIZ, in coordination with the Bandung City UKS Coordinating Team, jointly conducted a study to describe and analyze the structures, processes, roles and responsibilities involved at the interface between the UKS programme and School-Based Management to inform strategies for sustainably scaling up the Fit for School Programme in Bandung as a model for West Java and other parts of Indonesia.

The programme in Bandung is currently being monitored through the POROS (Performance Management System) managed by the city government.  It employs the Three-Star Approach for WASH in Schools which awards the achievement of school WASH milestones with corresponding star levels, and results for each school are available to the public online. With its ongoing work to support the development of online dashboards for real-time feedback and transparency in WinS performance using global (SDG) and national (UKS) standards, the programme aims to bring the lessons from Bandung in online monitoring and performance management for WinS, as an integrated approach for recognizing stepwise achievement, guiding action, and motivating through transparency and accountability, to the Ministries of Education and Religious Affairs.

Support to Provinces & Districts

Through the advocacy efforts of the West Java Province UKS team and the Ministry of Health, more than 600 schools in 6 provinces have replicated the daily group hygiene activities on their own initiative, while several other districts and provinces have also expressed their interest. The experience of the FIT Programmeintegrated within the MOEC Manual for Elementary School Sanitation Development will partly address the growing interest coming from outside the program’s current scope and will support to mainstream simple, scalable, sustainable, and systems-oriented approaches to managing WASH in schools.

 

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