Title: THE IV MEETING OF THE LATIN AMERICAN NETWORK OF HEALTH-PROMOTING SCHOOLS
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Section/SPIG: International Health
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The IV Meeting of the Latin American Network of Health-Promoting Schools (LANHPS) was successfully conducted in San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 11-16, 2004. The purpose of this meeting was to contribute to the improvement of quality of life and opportunities for quality education and integral development of the school-age population and other members of the educational community, through the strengthening of the technical capability of Latin American and Caribbean countries for the implementation, follow-up and evaluation of the Health-Promoting Schools Initiative.
Participants at this meeting included official delegates of member countries of the LANHPS and members of the National Joint Commissions responsible for the coordination of the Health-Promoting Schools Initiative in every country (a delegate from the ministry of health and a delegate from the ministry of education in each country); representatives of NGOs, community-based and academic institutions, and strategic partners committed with Health Promotion and Health Education in the school setting; representatives of United Nations agencies (UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, FAO, ILO and others); PAHO/WHO focal points; and other special guests.
Over 100 school health experts attended the meeting, including dfficial delegates from the ministries of health and education of 17 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela) and participants from Aruba, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, Italy and Trinidad and Tobago.
Multi-country consultations for the development of the LANHPS started in 1993, resulting in the creation of the network in 1996, with an initial membership of 11 countries. At the second Meeting of the LANHPS (Mexico City, 1998), the membership expanded to include all the countries of the Americas. The third meeting was conducted in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 10-13, 2002, with the participation of almost all Latin American countries. These meetings provide the opportunity for sharing information about the relevant processes of developing Health-Promoting Schools and relevant experiences, including the processes of strengthening of national commissions, the design and implementation of tools of rapid diagnosis, teachers’ training, publications and classroom manuals, and the development of a myriad of important health education and health promotion resources.