2022 – Reports | SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being

Health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”. Health encompasses every aspect of a person’s physiology; their physical facets, their psychological state, and their ability to socialize with others. It is vital for the general welfare of students and, most importantly, helps them with their studies. Moreover, good health also facilitates the ability of the faculty to teach better and be more competent to impart the lessons to their students.

Good health has an overwhelmingly positive effect on a person’s abilities and skills. Individuals become more focused, more productive, and can take in a lot more information for a longer period. Health encompasses a lot of different aspects; from food and nutrition, to a person’s emotional status, to their mental capacities, to physical activity and metabolism. It could even incorporate spiritual commitment and religious beliefs.

Isabela State University has committed to a 100% Smoke-Free and conducive learning environment for its students. The university has employed strict policies that all its stakeholders must follow. Alongside that, signages have been placed in various parts of the university to remind students of these guidelines including the penalties in breaking them.

This is because the university is deeply aware of the importance of good health and has worked to provide its students and faculty with sufficient resources in its search for providing utmost wellness. The university’s many services facilitate good health, as does its promotion of health that helps to educate the students of its benefits while giving the faculty sufficient energy to help in attaining and maintaining a conducive learning environment.

Isabela State University conducts programs in the local community that help to spread awareness on various health topics, physical and others. Students actively participate in health education and feeding programs that help supply the malnourished children of the community with necessary food and knowledge of different hygiene practices. Students also conduct health teaching activities within schools, specifically high schools, on various topics such as drug abuse, general nutrition, and the importance of physical exercise. The university works in partnership with the municipality to facilitate fundraisers and events in the barangay in which the people of the community would have the opportunity to participate. These events reach even people outside of the school to promote the improvement of health and well being on a larger scale.

Health promotion and health education are very important to the university. Many programs are hosted inside the school that covers a variety of subjects, especially with more stigmatized topics of health such as sex and gender, sexual education, and reproduction. Although Sex Ed (sexual education) is an important lesson to learn in both the elementary and high-school setting, Isabela State University recognizes that, as an institution consisting of college students and young adults who are readily exercising their freedom, an important development for the proper knowledge about sex is vital. The university has not shed away from discussing these topics, and certainly promotes to the students to practice safe sex and know the important risks or potential benefits that it might entail.

Isabela State University also makes use of its facilities for the purposes of promotion and activity. The university, alongside the municipality, helps manage games for its students and for the general populace during tournaments and sports festivals. Particularly, the open gym and the amphitheater have been sports facilities that the university has extensively allowed permission to make use of. It helps develop a person’s physical health.

Mental health is an aspect of health that could be considered as important as a person’s physical health. It holds a person’s emotions, feelings, psychology, and mental state. Mental health impacts physical health, and in many ways, it holds a higher degree of importance for a student’s studies than physical health. The same goes for the faculty, who require a strong mental fortitude in the teaching environment.

Mental health has become an important aspect of school life in the modern world. The university has adapted to these changes and have brought about its importance among the students and staff. Many events are held, and months are dedicated to the importance of mental health. The university also has guidance counselors who are always there to lend a hand to students and faculty in need of proper guidance. Isabela State University provides its students and staff all the necessary resources for good health and well-being. It marks the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards sustainable development goals with a high-level guidance on transformative actions. The aim to reduce the global maternal mortality, improve the level of wellness for individuals and families, and to strengthen the prevention of diseases, starts from Isabela State University’s objective i.e. to ensure access to a higher health coverage and sustainability of improved health.

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