The National Democratic Congress (NDC) at their manifesto launch as part of their health policies, promised that in their next government, free sanitary pads will be provided to female students.
Explaining the reason for this initiative, the party’s manifesto spokesperson on health, Dr. Jehu-Appiah noted that this policy will improve school attendance of many girls in deprived communities.
Dr. Jehu-Appiah revealed this in an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Samuel Eshun, host of the Happy Morning Show.
“The free sanitary pad issue is a concept already being implemented in Kenya and other countries which has improved school attendance.”
He furthered that the issue may seem trivial to most people but it is a big concern for most girls living in rural Ghana.
“We need to provide them with sanitary towels so they stay in school. It has been done in other countries and has improved attendance amongst these girls. We need to bring it to Ghana and that is what we will do,” he reiterated.
The politician was quick to add that some young girls also have no idea of their menstrual cycle and this is also a problem the next NDC government seeks to address.
“And we will through continuous education efforts provide these kids with information on their menstrual health and other related issues.”
Many adolescent girls in Ghana’s rural regions don’t go to school when they are menstruating. One reason is that they cannot afford to buy sanitary pads, so they stay at home for their period.
A lack of personal hygiene is a serious issue and due to the unaffordability of sanitary pads, girls often use old rags to catch the flow of blood.
According to data from Action Aid Tamale, some of these girls do not have the confidence to wash out the rags properly and hang it outside to dry so that bacteria get killed by the sun because of some superstitions.
Many poor girls use a single dirty rag for the entire period which is a health hazard.
Civil-society organisations and others working in these areas have on various occasions appealed to the government to provide free sanitary pads to girls in schools.
By: Joel Sanco
