SEP Launches Phase Two of National Student Health Program

Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education (SEP) has launched the second phase of its national strategy Vive saludable, vive feliz (Live healthy, live happy), which will assess the health of 5 million students between September and December 2025. The initiative, part of the Nueva Escuela Mexicana framework, aims to strengthen schools as healthy environments and reduce risks associated with addictions.

“This strategy is designed to make schools safe and healthy spaces for children, and to ensure families are part of the process,” says Mario Delgado, Minister of Education, SEP during the first Interinstitutional Meeting marking the start of this stage.

The program was introduced under the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum and initially deployed 738 health brigades, with 7,700 specialists who assessed over 4 million students across 27,000 schools nationwide. The next phase will extend the initiative to schools in rural and Indigenous areas, which often have limited access to health services.

Parents are being asked to provide signed consent forms to allow their children to participate when the brigades visit their schools. According to SEP, results of the evaluations will be delivered in printed form along with free textbooks, so families can take them to clinics for follow-up care. Students identified with visual impairments will be provided with free eyeglasses.

To coordinate the strategy, SEP is working with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), the Ministry of Health (SSA), the National System for Integral Family Development (DIF), and the National Council for Educational Development (CONAFE). 

The strategy also includes promoting healthy eating and eliminating junk food from schools. Delgado says that ongoing dialogue among education, health, and social agencies will be necessary for the strategy’s success. “These spaces are fundamental to build agreements and make the strategy our own, so that together we can build a healthier life,” he says.