Accra, June 2, GNA-As part of activities to mark the world Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024, the Family Health University College, comprising the Family Health Hospital, Medical School, and Nursing & Midwifery Schools, donated over 1,500 packets of sanitary pads to students.
The recipients were from the Ledzokuku Municipal Authority (LEKMA) Southern Cluster of Schools.
The gesture according to the President of the Family Health Medical Students’ Association, Mr Abeeku Zuriel Idun, was to mitigate the distress some girls go through during their menstrual periods.
Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed worldwide on 28th May each year, is a day dedicated to raising awareness on the difficulties women and girls face during menstruation.
Various stakeholders, including health professionals, gender activists, educators, NGOs, and conscientious citizens, strive to provide education and support to eradicate period poverty and its detrimental effects.
The theme for this year is ‘Together for a period-friendly World,’ which envisions a world free from the stigma and taboos associated with menstruation.
At the event which was held at the Presbyterian Church Hall, Teshie, the LEKMA Municipal Director of Education, Mrs. Theresa Tetteh, emphasized the need for more support for girls to manage their periods safely and confidently.
She expressed gratitude to the Family Health University College and urged other organizations, donors, and the public to follow suit and support girls in underprivileged communities struggling to access menstrual products.
Dr. Gifty Ofori Ansah, the LEKMA Health Director, called for prioritizing menstrual hygiene policy in the government’s Girl Child Education agenda and encouraged girls to seek professional help and guidance from their counsellors and teachers about menstrual hygiene challenges.
Dr. Naa Adorkor Sodzi-Tettey, a lecturer, and Clinical Coordinator at the Family Health Medical School, educated the girls on menstruation and safe practices emphasizing that menstruation was a natural and normal process and should not be stigmatised.
She called on the LEKMA Municipal Director of Education to prioritise and improve washroom facilities. ‘We cannot educate girls every year to change their pads regularly and wash their hands after changing when there is no decent place in the school for doing that: no privacy, no water, no soap’ she said.
She called for innovative and sustainable solutions for a period-friendly world for girls and told the students that there was no shame in using reusable materials for their periods if the reusables were washed well, dried, and reused.
She demonstrated the use of a reusable menstrual product that was being produced by some entrepreneurs and NGO’s and encouraged their patronage.
Over 600 girls from 17 Junior and Senior High Schools from the LEKMA Southern Cluster of Schools benefited from the interaction with the staff and students of Family Health University College on acceptable menstrual practices. The students expressed their gratitude for the sanitary pads and the education they received.
GNA