As part of activities to celebrate the 2023 world menstrual hygiene day, Let’s Help Humanitarian Foundation and Women Africa, a non-profit organization recently organized training workshops for girls (from low income homes) across secondary schools in the FCT on menstrual hygiene awareness and reusable sanitary pads making skills.
The theme of the Menstrual Hygiene Day 2023 is: “Making Menstruation A Normal Fact of Life By 2030”.
These reusable pads are intended to serve as alternatives when they cannot access disposable pads.
The first training has commenced at Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Bwari, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on 16th May 2023 where 57 girls were trained on how to make reusable sanitary pads. Sanitary pads were also distributed to them.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Women Africa, Ms. Chinwe Onyeukwu explained that they organized sensitization sessions on menstrual hygiene management and distributed free disposable and reusable sanitary pads to over 120 junior and senior secondary school girls in the FCT.
She said these was based on the responses from the girls regarding the challenges they faced in managing their period during menstruation, and due to the high cost of sanitary pads.
She said,they are organizing these trainings, starting with Bwari, to empower adolescent girls with skills for producing reusable sanitary pads as an alternative for safe, hygienic and sustainable support during menstruation”.
Also speaking at the event, Let’s Help Humanitarian Foundation represented by Mrs. Nneka Acholonu Egbuna the Programme Manager, added that, “according to reports about 1 in ten 10 girls in Africa miss school during their menstruation, which means they fall behind in their studies or drop out of school altogether. Reusable pads offer safe alternatives to make sure girls stay in school and participate in other social activities”.
They jointly called on the government and various stakeholders, including the private sector, to provide opportunities for making affordable pads more accessible, support adequate menstrual hygiene awareness, including providing accessible Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities – like toilets, sanitary pad banks, proper waste management facilities – to ensure women and girls adequately cater to their periods.
These will also contribute to removing the stigma and shame associated with menstruation.
World Menstrual Hygiene Day is a global event observed annually on May 28th, to raise awareness about the importance of menstrual hygiene and break the silence and stigma surrounding menstruation.
