The following message was addressed by the participants of the Workshop to HE Im Sethy for consideration at the upcoming SEAMEO meeting to be held in Bali , Indonesia , March 14 th-16 th, 2007.

A request to HE Im Sethy from the Greater Mekong Sub Regional Meeting on “Strengthening the Education Sector Response to School Health, Nutrition and HIV&AIDS”.

Your Excellency,

The participants of the above meeting would be most grateful if you would be so kind as to table or to speak to the message below at the forthcoming SEAMEO meeting to be held in Bali , Indonesia 14 th – 16 th March, 2007.

cc    SEAMEO Secretariat Director
       UNESCO Regional Director, Asia and Pacific Region

Message from the Participants

The first Greater Mekong Sub Regional Meeting on “Strengthening the Education Sector Response to School Health, Nutrition and HIV & AIDS” was held in Siem Reap, 5 th-9 th March, 2007 . It was hosted by the Royal Government of Cambodia under the especial care of its Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

The event was attended by over 100 participants from Ministries of Education and Health, Civil Society and Development Partners from Cambodia , China , Lao PDR, Thailand , Vietnam and observers from Bhutan . It was supported by Department for International Development (DFID), Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Partnership for Child Development, Save the Children (US), SEAMEO, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank (WB).

In the context of achieving EFA and education MDGs, the workshop addressed the critical issues of school health, nutrition and HIV&AIDS, with particular reference to school based health policies, the school environment, skills based health education and school based health and nutrition services. The workshop helped raise countries’ awareness of these issues and gave participants opportunities to share their experiences and good practices and also to learn from these and each other. Participants committed to translate policies into actions and to strengthen coordination and harmonization within governments and with partners, as well as to promote regional cooperation around the issues discussed.

In order to keep the current momentum and to build on the recommendations of the Siem Reap Meeting, participants strongly recommended that a regional network be developed, under the auspices of the SEAMEO/ASEAN Secretariat, that would promote continuing support, development of regional guidance and exchange of information concerning school health, nutrition and HIV&AIDS. To further these aims, the participants expressed the wish to have a second workshop organized within the next 12 to 18 months, also under the auspices of the SEAMEO/ASEAN Secretariat, with broader participation from other countries from across the region and elsewhere as appropriate. Participants further expressed the intention that on their return to their home countries, the ideas and thinking expressed during the workshop would rapidly be translated into action on the ground.