Education is a fundamental human right. It is the key to sustainable development and peace and stability within and among countries, and thus an indispensable means for effective participation in the societies and economies of the twenty-first century, which are affected by rapid globalization. Achieving EFA goals should be postponed no longer.
The basic learning needs of all can and must be met as a matter of urgency.

So states paragraph 6 of the Dakar Framework for Action, adopted by 164 national governments in April 2000 as the official embodiment of their commitment to meet the basic education needs of all children and youth by the year 2015.

At the dawn of the 21st century, the learning potential of significant numbers of children and young people in every country in the world is compromised by conditions and behaviours that undermine the physical and emotional well-being that makes learning possible. Hunger, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, malaria, polio and intestinal infections, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and injury, unplanned pregnancy, and infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections threaten the health and lives of the children and youth in which Education for All efforts are most invested.

Under these circumstances, education policy-makers and planners must embrace health promotion activities to achieve their goals. Schools must be not only centres for academic learning, but also supportive venues for the provision of essential health education and services.