On 17 May 2018, the Belgian platforms Be-cause health and Educaid.be jointly organised an international conference on the intersection between health and education in international cooperation. 

Better learning outcomes lead to improved health outcomes and vice versa. This is particularly true for women and girls. Ensuring quality education for all is central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically the goals that ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all, at all ages. At the same time, learning outcomes are also critically dependent on the health and nutrition of the individual learner.

But to what extent does international cooperation link health and education? Which examples of collaboration between the two sectors exist? What are the needs and principal barriers? What are the conditions for making collaboration effective?

This conference aimed to highlight the links between health and education as global public goods, and explore common challenges as well as learning opportunities. It thereby focused on investments in three main areas:

  • Health workforce development
  • Safe and healthy school environments
  • Community engagement/awareness-raising for health and education

The conference was opened by a representative of Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal services, followed by a keynote address which will provided a helicopter view of the intersection between health and education. Subsequently, an expert panel made the case for investing in education and health and highlight international priorities for this crucial interplay. In the afternoon, four parallel sessions focused on innovative practices and examples of collaboration between a wide range of development actors – international and Belgian – working on education and/or health

The annual conferences of Be-cause health and Educaid.be aim to enrich discussion on respectively health and education issues within international cooperation by giving the floor to academics and researchers, policy makers and practitioners from all over the world. With this joint conference, both platforms aim to trigger critical reflection on the roles of international development actors in combining education and health.

PROGRAMME

8:30-9:00

Registration and coffee

9:00-9:30
ED-BCH
Welcome & Introduction
Educaid.be & Be-cause health
Alexander De Croo
Alexander De Croo
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal services
9:30-10:15
Bradford Strickland
Keynote address - Bradford Strickland
Independent Consultant on School Health and Inclusion
10:15-10:45

Coffee break

10:45-12:30

Panel discussion - Making the case for investing in education and health

Moderator: Laura Shields, Red Thread

Joanna Herat
Joanna Herat
Senior Programme Specialist on Health and Education, UNESCO
Ibrahima Souka Ndella Diouf
Ibrahima Souka Ndella Diouf
Director, Human Resources, Ministry of Health and Social Action (Senegal)
Faith Nkala
Faith Nkala
National Director, Camfed Zimbabwe
Lesley Drake
Lesley Drake
Executive Director, Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College London
12:30-14:00

Lunch break

14:00-16:30

Breakout sessions

Session A:

Two Birds, One Stone
How can comprehensive sexuality education and programmes addressing school-related gender-based violence contribute to better sexual and reproductive health and education outcomes? Lessons for policy, practice and partnerships.

Moderator: Sietske Steneker, UNFPA

More information about the session

Yona Nestel
Yona Nestel
Senior Education Advocacy and Policy Advisor, Plan International
Hans De Greve
Hans De Greve
Education Advisor, VVOB Suriname
Joanna Herat
Joanna Herat
Senior Programme Specialist on Health and Education, UNESCO
Anna Ninsiima
Anna Ninsiima
Lecturer, School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University (Uganda)
Session B:

The POWER of KNOWING

Training practices for healthcare professionals combining innovation and tried and tested methods with a view to making teams more independent

Moderator: Anne Fromont, School of Public Health (ULB)

More information about the session

Roland De Bruyne
Roland De Bruyne
Trainer, Fracarita Belgium & Medics Without Vacation
Prudence Mitangala
Prudence Mitangala Ndeba
Medical Technical Assistant (DR Congo), NGO ULB-Coopération
Jean Michel Kolié
Jean Michel Kolié
Assistant to the IT Service, National Rural Health Training and Research Centre (Maferinyah, Guinea-Conakry)
Session C:

Citizens claiming their rights

How to engage communities in realizing the right to health and education

Moderator: Fanny Polet, G3W-M3M – KIYO – Solidagro (consortium)

More information about the session

Billy Mwangaza
Billy Mwangaza Katya Vihamba
Facilitator, Etoile du Sud (DR Congo)
Ali Oumarou
Ali Oumarou
Project Coordinator, Plan International Niger
Mohammed Owaineh
Mohammed Owaineh
Community Education Supervisor, Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR)
Session D:

Where education meets health: health education for children and adolescents

Developing adequate and contextualised teaching materials to promote general understanding of diabetes and first aid to enhance children and adolescents’ ability to be more resilient, safer and healthier.

Moderator: Els Salembier, The Swallow/Afrodidact

More information about the session

Jorien Laermans
Dr Jorien Laermans
Methodological Expert Centre for Evidence-Based Practice (CEBaP)
rec
Lieve Adam
Focal Point First Aid International Cooperation, Belgian Red Cross Society, Flanders (BRC-F)
Monika Arora
Monika Arora
Director: Health Promotion Division and Additional Professor, Public Health Foundation of India
16:30-17:30

Reception

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