By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), May 28, GNA – Dr Freda Prempeh, a former Member of Parliament (MP) says improving girls’ menstrual hygiene ought to go beyond distribution of sanitary pads, calling on the nation to accelerate access to menstrual health and hygiene facilities in basic schools.
She emphasised that menstruation remained a normal fact of life, expressing the worry that adolescent girls of reproductive age, especially those in rural communities, were confronted with many challenges in managing their menstruation.
Dr Prempeh, a former MP for Tano North in the Ahafo Region made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani as the nation joins the rest of the world to mark the 2026 Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Menstural Hygiene Day is celebrated globally on May 28 every year and to create a wave of attention for menstruation, enjoining governments and stakeholders to collectively take action, adopt policies and improve menstrual health and hygiene services.
Dr Prempeh, also the founder of Ultimate Women Foundation (UWF), an NGO expressed worry that many basic schools in rural communities lacked water, sanitation and hand washing facilities thereby depriving girls’ good menstrual health.
She said the UWF focused on empowering indigenous, vulnerable women and girls, advocating for gender equity, and promoting community development as well as actively encouraging and motivating women to know their worth.
Dr Prempeh noted that many girls still used tattered clothes and unhygienic materials to manage their menses, saying that, due to lack of improved sanitary facilities, many girls in rural communities could not go to school during their menstruation periods.
She said though the government’s distribution of free sanitary pads policy was commendable, it was also imperative for the government to ensure that girls’ potentials were unlimited by menstruation.
“The government must ensure that every woman and girl have access to affordable menstrual products and safe sanitation facilities,” she stated, saying that: “no girl should be a school dropout because of her menses”.
Dr Prempeh emphasised that advancing menstrual health and hygiene services in the country would expose the cultural myths and discriminatory practices that continued to affect girls’ education, freedom, and self-worth.
Dr Prempeh noted that poor menstrual hygiene due to limited access to hygienic menstrual products, and poor sanitation facilities undermined learning opportunities, health, and overall social status of girls, keeping them from reaching their full potential.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
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