By Stanley Onyekwere
In commemoration this year’s World Menstrual Hygiene (WMH) Day, the Helpline Foundation for the Needy Abuja, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) distributed sanitary pads to no fewer than 400 female students, and donated to school dispensary, in the nation’s capital.
It was gathered that one menstrual hygiene kit containing an ample amount of pads each was distributed to the female students for promotion of hygiene and proper education on menstrual health.
Making the donation at Government Girls’ Science Secondary School, Kuje, Abuja, over the weekend, President of the Foundation, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu said the NGO aimed at addressing the issue of menstrual hygiene management and contributing to the well-being of the students, in line with this year’s theme, which is “Promoting Menstrual Health”.
Represented by the Foundation’s Research Officer, Itodo Ojonoka Felicia, Ahmadu noted that the outing was to promote menstrual health awareness, empower young students, and ensure they have access to menstrual hygiene products.
According to her, prior to the distribution exercise, her team conducted research on menstrual hygiene, engaged with stakeholders and assessed the needs of the students and the school.
She explained that the school was known for having significant number of female students, with limited resources, before making available an appropriate quantity and type of menstrual hygiene products required.
The Foundation President also disclosed that the NGO organised an interactive session with the students, where discussions on menstrual health and hygiene practices and proper use of pad were carried out, including debunking of common myths and misconceptions about menstrual cycle.
She revealed that the students actively participated in the interactive session, sharing their experiences, concerns and asking questions for clarification.
She adds: “We gathered that poor menstrual hygiene is caused by a lack of education, persisting taboos, stigma, limited access to hygienic menstrual products and poor sanitation”.
