Investing in Girls Education Africa (IGEA) has facilitated the training of 12 women based in Bolgatanga, Navrongo and Paga in production of reusable pads. The women are expected to produce resuable pads to complement the sale and distribution of disposable sanitary pads in the Upper East Region as part of IGEA’s efforts to reduce period poverty in the Upper East Region.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 2023 Partners and Review Meeting facilitated by IGEA, Rusmond Anyinah, Director for IGEA explained that the training of the entrepreneurs in the production of reusable pads would help girls maintain their dignity while avoiding transactional sex.
“For us, we supported 12 women in the production of reusable pads with the support of skilled individuals we brought from Kumasi. These women are already in dressmaking and are professionals in dressmaking but lacked the skill of properly producing sanitary pads. The sanitary pads are being produced across implementation areas. Some are in Bolga, Paga, Navrongo. We ensure that they are being done in a hygienic manner. Materials are sourced from a background that’s hygenic and would not cause any issues to the girls,” he said.
Regarding the adoption and usage of reusable pads in the places where they are being used, Mr. Anyinah said that a good percentage of the girls who have gotten the pads have consented to use them.
“Regarding the acceptance, there are a lot of them who have accepted the use of this reusable pads. They have understood that these are complementary and supposed to help complement what their parents are already providing,” he said.
The financial burden of having to purchase sanitary pads on a monthly basis may be one that many parents cannot face because of the widespread poverty in rural Ghana, Mr. Anyinah stated, therefore reusable pads continue to be the best option.
“Period where parents are not able to provide these disposable pads to the girls, then they can use the reusable pads,” he said.
The reusable pads, Mr. Anyinah explained that, the reusable pads have the additional advantage of being completely biodegradable stressing that “they cannot cause harm to the environment unlike the disposable ones that can’t be degraded easily and that is why we are promoting this.”
So far, the Director for IGEA said that more than 700 reusable pads have been distributed to school children.
Investing in Girls Education Africa (IGEA) was founded in 2019 in the UK and Ghana to promote access to quality education for girls in rural communities. The activities of IGEA are anchored on effective partnerships and cross-sector collaborations.
Between April 2022 and March 2023, IGEA undertook, mass sensitization of parents on the need to invest in girls education, distribution of sanitary products for school girls and juvenile inmates, provision of coaching and educational resources to promising rural girls, identification of women and training in the production of reusable sanitary products and kits, facilitate pathways for rural young girls to gain technical skills to aid employability skills and pilot new modules in improving educational outcomes at the basic level.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
