AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), in partnership with other stakeholders has advocated for safe spaces to enable women and girls practice menstruation in a safe environment.
Steve Aborisade, Advocacy and marketing manager, AHF Nigeria, made this call at an event in commemoration of the 2021 Menstrual Hygiene Day, with the theme: “A Necessity, Not a Luxury!’’.
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The event was organised by AHF, to sensitise young girls from various schools in the Federal Capital Territory on menstrual hygiene practices and reusable pads.
Aborisade said the day was set aside to broaden the message of menstrual hygiene among young girls as a necessity for optimal health.
He emphasised the need for young girls in school to have access to sanitary pad, a safe and clean environment to change and dispose used pads.
“The foundation is ensuring that this message is broadened especially when we realised that menstruation is a necessity for women and girls.
“It is a monthly ritual and majority of our girls lack access to sanitary pads, which is necessary for optimal health; especially young girls who are in schools need to have confident.
“We want government and other stakeholders to begin to look inward to see that it is an area of intervention.
“We want girls in schools to have places where they can pick a refill of their pads, like a sanitary pad bank where we have enough pads available for a lot of young girls.”
He added that the foundation would be supplying five million pads across Africa and 40,000 would be distributed at AHF operating states which include FCT, Nasarawa, kogi, Anambra, Cross River, and Akwa-Ibom,
Justina Ukachi, Principal Community Development Officer, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, admonished the school girls stating that menstruation is a natural process for women and girls.
She stressed that proper menstruation hygiene helps prevent infections and bad smell during menstruation adding that personal hygiene was important for their well-being and development.
“The Ministry will be unveiling a menstrual pad bank, so that during emergency women and girls can have access to pads, disinfectant, hand sanitizers, soaps, among others.
“We also want to see that the menstrual pad bank is replicated at work places, markets, schools and other public places across the federation,’’ Ukachi said .
Also speaking, Adaeze Ike Nursing Officer 1/Gender, Federal Ministry of Health, highlighted misconceptions surrounding menstrual practices such as cultural, social and religious barriers.
Adaeze said that menstruation was surrounded by silence, taboos and stigma, stressing that, menstruating woman or girls are not impure, cursed or dirty.
“In some places whenever a child is menstruating, she is not expected to go to school, it is assumed she is toxic and harmful to anybody that touches her .
“Other restriction are not bathing for the number of menstruation days, as it is believed that if they bath it can stop the flow which is a barrier to personal hygiene.
“Some also believe that when they dispose their sanitary pads, someone can use it for charm thereby affecting the fertility of the girl or woman,’’ Ike stressed.
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