Rima Afifi, professor and interim head of community and behavioral health in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has been appointed to the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline Development Group (GDG) for school health services.

The purpose of the guideline is to improve the health of school-aged children and adolescents by improving school health services through effective interventions rather than outdated and inefficient routine interventions.

With this guideline, WHO will be able to fulfill its normative role and provide clear and evidence-based guidance to countries and their partners on whether school health services — school-based and school-linked services provided by a health worker — can be effective, and, if yes, which interventions should be included and how they should be delivered effectively.

The group has meet twice and will meet once more in March 2020 to finalize recommendations for global school health services guidelines.