AfriKids, a child rights organisation headquartered in the Upper East Region, has joined the call for a reduction in taxes on the prices of sanitary products.
Speaking on behalf of the organisation on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, Raymond Ayinne, External Affairs Manager of AfriKids, mentioned that the consequences of the high prices of sanitary products for girls in rural areas are significant.
“Government has to take a second look at the sheer number of taxes on sanitary pads. I mean, we are not talking about dresses. We are not talking about hair braids. We are talking about something every woman needs at least once a month and she needs it for between 4 and seven days or more. Because of period poverty, you find girls putting on one sanitary pad a day. This is not acceptable.”
Mr. Ayinne explained the connection between the cost of these products and transactional sex, the education of the girl child, and the general health and well-being of children.
As part of its educational programmes, AfriKids has been supporting girls in schools with sanitary products, particularly reusable sanitary pads. However, this only addresses half of the problem.
“In all of our intervention areas, we have made reusable pads available to schools. But that is not just the school. What if the girl is not in the school and needs a sanitary pad at home? Who then provides it [the sanitary pad]?”
The already terrible situation, according to Mr. Ayinne, is exacerbated by the current economic situation in the country.
“When you look at the situation, it is quite difficult, in the sense that the prevailing economic situation doesn’t help. I mean, we are living in extremely difficult times where families with very little resources are trying to juggle food, healthcare, education, clothing, shelter and it just becomes impossible at a certain point for most families to be able to take care of these things,” he explained.
International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. October 11, 2012, was the first Day of the Girl Child. The observation supports more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender. This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage. The celebration of the day also “reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research.”
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
