Schoolgirls at the Nyariga Community have benefited from sanitary pads from Safe Menstruation Movement (SAMMO); a non-governmental organization based in the Upper East Region.
To climax this year’s International Menstrual Hygiene Day, which falls on the 28th of May every year, Safe Menstruation Movement has donated packs of sanitary pads among other learning materials to school girls at Nyariga Doone Girls Primary and JHS, Nyariga MA JHS as well as the Nyariga LA JHS.
The items donated include 700 packs of disposable pads,50 pieces of reusable pads, 16 packs of exercise books and 6 boxes of pens.
Paul Nsobuno, President of SAMMO said, the organization’s aim is to dialogue with stakeholders in society to ensure that the challenges facing women and girls with regard to hygiene during menstruation are addressed amicably, especially for the less privileged in the various communities.
According to Mr. Nsobuno, it is important for the government to have an interest in putting measures in place to address the challenges women are facing.
“We want to use this opportunity not to bring out challenges women face during menstruation but to also address these challenges by engaging policymakers and highlighting positive innovative ways of solving Menstrual Hygiene.”
“You saw that we displayed reusable pads, these are things that if we invest into, we can reduce the cost of sanitary pads. With the reusable one, the person can use it for a year. We can not achieve this without bringing the government on board. We want the government to take steps in reducing or scrapping the tax slapped on sanitary products,” he said.
The SAMMO President also used the occasion to admonish parents to be concerned about the menstrual hygiene of their children and also show interest in educating them on their menstrual circle.
The External Affairs Manager at Afrikids Ghana, Raymond Ayinne said some girls from economically disadvantaged backgrounds resort to using unabsorbent materials during menstruation. It is for this reason Mr. Ayine believes there is an urgent need for government to put in measures to address the situation.
Meanwhile, some of the students who received the pads expressed excitement about the gesture. According to them, the donation will go a long way to help them sustain their Menstrual Hygiene.
Source:A1Radioonline.Com|10.1MHZ|David Azure| Bolgatanga|
