By Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Anaji (WR), March 12, GNA – The Concerned Mothers Movement, women and girls Centred NGO in Takoradi in the Western Region has commended the government for committing to the promise of a women’s bank.
The Movement also thanked the President for working to ensure that sanitary pads were less expensive and to some extent free and easily accessible to the Ghanaian girl in the puberty stage.
Mrs. Josephine Amo-Yankson, the Executive Director of the Movement said period poverty had seen many girls abused and becoming pregnant and thus shirking their God given potentials to teenage pregnancies.
The decision by the government must not be short lived, rather policies and programmes should be well articulated for a more sustainable supply of these essential commodities particularly to the less privileged in society, she added.
On women and financial management and independence, Mrs Amo-Yankson said the establishment of the Women Banks were fundamental to helping women gain financial literacy and independence.
The government has allocated GH¢51.3 million as seed funding for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank (WDB) to support women entrepreneurs and traders.
This was announced by Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister for Finance, while presenting the 2025 Budget statement to Parliament on Tuesday .
The initiative aimed to address the persistent challenges women faced in accessing capital for the growth of their businesses.
“The Women’s Development Bank will remove barriers such as collateral and equity requirements that have made it difficult for women to secure funding from traditional banks,” Dr Forson stated.
The bank is expected to provide flexible financial solutions tailored to the needs of women in small and medium enterprises, enabling them to expand their businesses and improve their livelihoods.
In addition to the WDB initiative, the government has allocated GH¢292.4 million to begin the free distribution of sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools.
This is to address the difficulties many schoolgirls faced during their menstrual cycles, ensuring uninterrupted education.
Dr Forson stressed that the government remained committed to social protection programmes, with increased budgetary allocations to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme, the School Feeding Programme, and the Capitation Grant.
GNA
JP/GRB