Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 22, 2020:  The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in collaboration with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has begun school health awareness campaigns today to educate primary and secondary school children across private schools in Dubai about COVID-19.

The one-month campaign aims to empower school children and provide them with health tips so that they can take care of their health and well-being.

In the first phase, officials from the Public Health Protection Department at the DHA will visit eight private schools in Dubai. At a later stage, the campaign will take place across more schools both in-person and virtually. 

Dr Hend Al Awadhi, Head of Health Promotion and Education Section at the Dubai Health Authority's (DHA) Public Health Protection Department says, “The staff that will enter the school will undergo all health and safety precautions to ensure the highest level of safety standards. While schools have adopted stringent precautionary measures to reduce the possibility of transmitting infection among students and to provide a safe and healthy educational environment, it is also important to educate students so that they are empowered to take care of themselves. We have planned the lectures in an interactive and educational manner so that children participate and are engaged.”

Children across primary schools will be educated about COVID-19 through interactive methods such as quizzes and puzzles. 

Children in secondary school will be briefed more in detail about daily sanitization procedures and routines once they return home, school-bus health safety tips and ways to boost immunity.

She added that parents play a pivotal role in helping maintain health and safety standards. “Both students and parents must adopt internationally recommended safety measures at school and after school as well,” she emphasised.