Janet Ogundepo
In line with the theme of World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024, #PeriodFriendlyWorld, women and girls advocacy groups are calling on governments at all levels and stakeholders to create a period-friendly school and workspaces for menstruating females.
They underscored the importance of good menstrual hygiene management and access to sanitary pads.
The groups, in separate statements to PUNCH Healthwise on Tuesday, also called for the elimination of the stigma surrounding menstruation.
WMHD is commemorated annually on May 28 to raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management and the need to break the stigma surrounding menstruation.
Menstruation, also known as period, is a biological process during which the uterus sheds blood and tissue from the uterine lining and is expelled from the body through the vagina.
PUNCH Healthwise recently reported the plight of young girls who, due to economic hardship and poverty, can no longer afford sanitary pads and are resorting to using old pieces of fabric, which further exposes them to infections.
In a statement sent to PUNCH Healthwise, a women and girls empowerment group, The Daurama Foundation, led by Dr Samira Buhari, noted that they celebrated the World Menstrual Hygiene Day by advocating and educating over 500 girls on the importance of menstrual health and hygiene.
Buhari said, “Every month, more than two billion people around the world menstruate. It is crucial that girls in Nigeria have access to the sanitary items they need to manage their periods safely and hygienically. Ensuring menstrual health aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting gender equality, quality education, and good health and well-being. Today and every day, we must normalise conversations about menstruation and take action to end period poverty.”
She revealed that the foundation donated sanitary pads to students of JSS Secondary School, Wuse, Zone 3, Abuja.
The school’s principal, Mrs Adebimpe Ojo, expressed her gratitude to the foundation for providing the students with sanitary pads and educating them about menstrual hygiene.
One of the students, Emmanuel Perfection, said, “Receiving these sanitary pads and learning about menstrual health today has been very helpful. Now, I feel more prepared and confident. Thank you to Dr Buhari and the Daurama Foundation for caring about us.”
The foundation also donated 500 sanitary pads towards the WASH programme in Borno State and reaffirmed its commitment to championing menstrual hygiene management and awareness in Nigeria.
Also, a period-friendly advocate and Team Lead of Town Crier Initiative, Ogene Ogbodo, urged government at all levels, WASH experts, policymakers, stakeholders and captains of industries to create period-friendly workspaces for menstruating staff.
He encouraged men to be involved in providing period kits for their daughters, female co-workers and friends, stating that this would help erase the stigma surrounding menstruation.
Ogbodo added, “This year Menstrual Hygiene Day theme, which was tagged towards a #PeriodFriendlyWorld, reminds us to advocate and create a world where the taboos and stigma surrounding menstruation are history, where everyone has access to quality menstrual products, period education and period-friendly toilets.
“From all of us at Town Crier Initiative, we are dedicated to using sports, academic and outdoor activities to help educate young girls and boys to normalise periods and inspire stigma-free conversations about menstruation.
“Our MHDay 2024 campaign tagged ‘Period Debate’ was aimed at using academic debate between girls and boys to generate discussion around menstruation, breaking the silence, bias, and stigma surrounding menstruation as well as distribute sanitary kits to 300 young girls in Enugu and Abuja.”
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