Bauchi: Assembly passes bill to establish free sanitary pad banks in schools, correctional facilities

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Bauchi State House of Assembly has passed Bill to establish sanitary pad Banks in schools, correctional facilities, and community centres across the state.

Speaking after the bill’s passage yesterday, the Speaker of the House, Abubakar Y. Suleiman, commended Women for Women International WfWI, ASHH Foundation, Child is Gold Foundation, and other civil society organisations, CSOs, for their advocacy efforts in ensuring the bill’s success.

He expressed optimism that the initiative would benefit indigent adolescent girls and women who struggle to afford sanitary pads, reaffirming the House’s commitment to supporting women’s development in Bauchi State.

Chairman of the House Committee on Health Lawal Dauda noted that Bauchi is the first state in Nigeria to pass such a bill.

According to him, free sanitary pad banks would address menstrual hygiene challenges and reduce absenteeism among schoolgirls, female inmates, and other disadvantaged women.

The Executive Director of ASHH Foundation, Ambassador Comfort Attah, expressed gratitude to the Bauchi State government, state legislature, and the CSOs for their contributions towards achieving this milestone.

She stated that while the bill’s passage is a significant achievement, the next step is for Governor Bala Mohammed to sign it into law.

In her remarks, the Executive Director of Child is Gold Foundation, Elizabeth George, described the bill’s passage as a landmark achievement for CSOs advocating for menstrual hygiene and women’s rights.

She emphasised that the initiative would ensure proper menstrual hygiene management in schools, correctional facilities, and communities, removing a barrier to education and well-being for indigent girls and women.

The bill now awaits the governor’s assent.