By Christopher Tetteh
Boffourkrom (B/R), May 29, GNA – The MIHOSO International Foundation, a Sunyani-based women-centred non-governmental organisation, has donated 100 pieces of sanitary pads to some basic schoolgirls in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region.
The NGO also sensitised the pupils and students of the Boffourkrom Municipal Assembly and the Seventh-Day Adventist basic schools on menstrual hygiene and sexual reproductive health issues.
It was part of activities to commemorate World Menstrual Hygiene Day, being celebrated on the theme: “Together for a Period-Friendly World”.
Mrs Irene Esenam Akana, the Gender Inclusive Advisor, MIHOSO, highlighted the significance of menstrual health and hygiene and called on the Government to make sanitary pads affordable and accessible for schoolgirls.
She said the nation ought to prioritise and incorporate menstrual health and hygiene into public policies and programmes too.
Mrs Akana advised school authorities to help intensify public education to “break the silence and stigma” surrounding menstrual health and hygiene.
He called for collective efforts towards helping girls and teenagers manage their menstruations with dignity and confidence, without compromises.
Also, initiatives seeking to promote menstrual health and hygiene must be supported, especially for marginalised communities, she said and expressed worry over the high cost of sanitary pads in the country.
That, she said, remained a major obstacle that forced girls to resort to unhygienic and unsafe alternatives during menstruation, such as the use of rags and leaves, while others also dropped out of school.
Mrs Eldridge Jacqueline Tuffour, a Senior Community Health Nurse at Boffourkrom, took the school children through safety measures during menstruation and advised them to eat a lot of fruits and drink more water.
Mrs Linda Okoe-Mantey, the Sunyani West Municipal School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator, Ghana Education Service, advised the school children against absenteeism during menstruation.
Mr Edward Amankwaa, the Headteacher of the Boffourkrom M/A Basic School, warned the students, particularly the boys, against stigmatising and discriminating against girls in their menstrual periods.
GNA