Bantwana Schools Integrated Program (BSIP)

Mobile Services for Healthier Students

Healthier children stay in school longer, learn more, and as a result, become more productive adults. By addressing the health barriers students face, we can increase the impact education has on their future. The Bantwana Schools Integrated Program (BSIP) used schools in Eswatini as entry points to deliver integrated services to more than 18,000 vulnerable youth. These services included primary health care screening and referrals, HIV prevention, and adolescent reproductive health information; nutrition; life skills; education; and psychosocial support.

Key BSIP initiatives included:

• School-based income generating activities and student-led businesses raised funds to support education costs for the most vulnerable children
• Permaculture gardens in all 34 BSIP secondary schools, as well as in vulnerable households improved child and household nutrition and generated income
• The School Health Outreach Program (SHOP) brought primary health care and counseling services to more than 18,000 students in 37 schools
• Education interventions provided scholastic grants to schools to obtain educational materials that improved student learning
• Protecting Our Youth Clubs in 15 BSIP schools promoted youth leadership and provided youth with adolescent sexual and reproductive health education through trained peer facilitators
• Corner libraries in schools boosted students’ reading and writing skills and encouraged teachers to conduct extra learning sessions