School Health Program in Nigeria: A Review of Its Implementation for Policy Improvement

Background: The School Health Program (SHP) contributes to overall goals and purposes of health and education of the school-age children who constitute about 23% of Nigerian population. Its effective implementation is enhanced by school health policy which provides the standards/guidelines for its practices and procedures. The National School Health Policy (NSHPo) in Nigeria was adopted in 2006 to achieve these purposes. Several studies had reviewed different components of the program in different aspectsparts of the country with varying findings but no countrywide report exists. It is essential to ascertain the present state of the SHP implementation in Nigeria by pooling available relevant studies for evidence-based decision making. The purpose of this review paper is to synthesize available information on implementation of the program across Nigeria for the purpose of policy review and program improvement. Methods: A comprehensive review of relevant literature was done to identify the implementation of the SHP across the country. Relevant implementation drivers were also reviewed. Results: The implementation of SHP across the country was sub-optimal. Conclusion: The SHP in Nigeria has largely remained at policy level with minimal implementation. Recommendation: There is a need to re-establish or strengthen the program in the country. There is also a need to review and redefine stakeholders’ participation for effective coordination. This may call for policy review and/or change