Commitment of Center for School Nutrition Health Movement to Support Healthy School Programs in Indonesia

Partners of the Center for School Nutrition Health Movement (SNHM), Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), in collaboration with UNESCO chair Global Health and Education (GHE) and Muhammadiyah Alam Surya Mentari Elementary School, gathered to attend a training to strengthen teacher competency in understanding the health nutrition modules for elementary school children in grades 1-6, in Siti Badilah Meeting Room, UMS Library, Monday (30/6/2025).

This training was attended by all class teachers and the school committee of Muhammadiyah Alam Surya Mentari school. The purpose of the training was to provide in-depth material related to the health nutrition module that has been prepared by the Centre for SNHM using a Guidelines Book developed for teachers.

The training delivered by UMS academicians who developed the modules included nutritionists, physiotherapists, dentist, and sanitarians.

The manager of UNESCO Chair GHE, Goof Buijs, in his opening presentation conveyed the global perspective of every school a health promoting school and emphasized education is one of the main determinants of health. Providing teachers with good tools and knowledge are expected to increase their self-confidence in transferring accurate nutrition health messages in class.

The health nutrition modules are developed by the SNHM research project team led by Assoc. Prof. Setyaningrum Rahmawaty, Ph.D. in collaboration with the UNESCO chair of Global Health and Education funded by BIMA research grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology of Indonesia in 2023 and 2024.

In the first year, the concept of implementing the health nutrition modules in the school curriculum and the design of the health nutrition modules to support UKS activities for children in grades 1-6 were produced, which were compiled based on literature studies and focus group discussion involving 23 teachers responsible for activities promoting health (called Usaha Kesehatan Sekolah) in 23 private elementary schools, Muhammadiyah in Surakarta City.

The modules designed were then tested for content validity by experts in the field of nutrition, dentists, physiotherapists, sanitarians, media, and language, and also students in grades 1-6 with their parents. A Teacher's Guidebook was also developed as a guideline for teacher to implement the modules and understand materials presented in the module. 

SNHM UMS Management takes a photo with training participants at the UMS Library, Monday, June 30, 2025.

The training emphasized the importance of understanding and awareness that health must be integrated into education and must be pursued together with all school components to realize students’ welfare and their success in the future.

The in-depth study of the material in the training focused on the development of clean and healthy living behaviors that include balanced nutrition, school children's health including nutritional health, body posture and physical activity that are relevant to school children, environmental hygiene and sanitation, and monitoring the nutritional status of school children as an indicator of children's health status.

Tips for implementing and overcoming problems that arise related to the material were also discussed in the training. The teachers and school committees identified the need for commitment from the school in integrating the module into the school curriculum, as well as commitment from parents to support changes in children's healthier living behavior.

In the future, what needs to be evaluated from the implementation of this module are: 

• Changes in children’s better clean and healthy living behavior.
• Long-term benefits of implementing the module, especially contributions to healthy living habits and academic achievements, as well as healthier school community behavior (teachers, school staff, and families).
• Better knowledge of children and school communities regarding clean and healthy living behavior.
• Sustainability of UKS activities in promoting clean and healthy living behavior.

Writer: SNHM UMS

Editor: Gede Arga Adrian