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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah honored today a group of schools accredited by the Royal Health Awareness Society’s (RHAS) Healthy Schools Program during RHAS 10th anniversary celebration.

The Healthy Schools Accreditation Program was adopted by RHAS in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education as a national program to accredit schools which succeed to implement the National School Health Standards.

At the event, Her Majesty passed by the 10th anniversary exhibition which represents all programs implemented by RHAS including the Donors’ Zone where she met main donors, Youth Zone where volunteers shared their stories, Community Zone which was showcasing a clinic with beneficiaries, and lastly the Schools Zone where teachers and students were present.

Achievements of Healthy Schools Project to date include, participation of 315 schools, building capacity and training of 1,030 healthcare teachers and principals, accreditation of 200 schools, the training of 150 volunteers and ambassadors on the healthy bag program, and the participation of 77 schools in the ‘Water Education for Teachers’ (WET) training program in cooperation with Ghadeer Mineral Water Company.

During the ceremony, Her Majesty handed out accreditation certificates (gold, silver, and bronze) to 59 participating schools in the presence of H.E. Mohammad Thneibat, Minister of Education, H.E. Ali Hiyasat, Mister of Health, Dr. Rami Farraj, and Chairman of Board of Directors of RHAS.

Ms. Haneen Odeh, Director of RHAS, who spoke at the ceremony, said that the society has achieved, since its inception, a number of accomplishments that people in various communities benefited from, particularly school students, who are now more aware of a number of important health-related issues.

Attending the ceremony were also H.E. Reem Abu Hassan, Minister of Social Development, H.E. Imad Fakhoury, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, RHAS board members, a number of MoE officials, and heads of donor companies.

The Royal Health Awareness Society is a Jordanian non-profit organization that seeks to raise the health awareness of the Jordanian society through implementing preventative public health and safety programs based on the right to health for all. RHAS develops and implements public health and safety awareness programs in partnership with the public and private sectors as well as civil society organizations.

The Healthy Schools Accreditation Program was adopted by RHAS in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education as a national program to accredit schools which succeed to implement the National School Health Standards.

The Healthy Schools Program introduces standards for healthy school environments, thereby developing healthy lifestyles and eating habits in order to prepare children and adolescents for healthy adulthood.

A set of health standards was designed to include nine chapters covering different areas of the school health environment and their related performance indicators. The National School Health Standards were evaluated and approved by the World Health Organization in June 2007.

The standards include: leadership and management, school environment and health safety, health awareness, effectiveness of the workers and teachers in school, community participation, health services provided to students, counseling services and psychological health, sports, nutrition, and swimming pools.

The Healthy Schools Project pilot phase was launched in 2008/2009 with the participation of 26 schools from all directorates and 40 schools from the Madrasati initiative, out of which 32 schools were accredited.