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JOE EFFIONG, UYO
Two groups, Oriental Energy Resources Limited and Aniedi Etim Foundation have come together to fight Period Poverty among young girls, especially, adolescent school children in Akwa Ibom State.
Period poverty is described as a situation where women and girls cannot afford proper hygiene products due to financial hardship, or inadequate access to menstrual tools and education which makes it difficult for students to safely manage their menstrual cycle.
At the Girl Child Menstrual Health Education Outreach for Secondary School in Akwa Ibom State held at Ibesikpo Secondary Commercial School, Nung Udoe in Ibesikpo Asutan LGA on Tuesday, the managing director of Oriental Energy Resources Limited, Mr Mustafa Indimi, said the involvement of the company to combat period poverty showed its practical demonstration of support for Menstrual Hygiene Day which usually takes place around the world on May 28 every year.
Indimi who was represented by the company’s head of government and community relations, Mr Uwem Ite, said the “Day is normally celebrated and used to highlight the importance of menstrual care and raise awareness about the issues faced by those who do not have access to sanitary products.”
“This is the overriding reason for our sponsorship of this programme for the benefits of JSS2 and JSS3 girls in this community school.
“Our support for 2022 Menstrual Hygiene Day is also a contribution toward fighting period poverty, improving health and promoting gender equality in education. These issues are all in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3, 4 and 5 adopted by the United Nations in September 2015.”
Indimi lamented that despite the fact SDG 5 seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, taboos and myths related to menstruation often portray women and girls as inferior to men and boys.
“This should not be the case or accepted in a modern society as such as ours.
“Against the above background, the Girl Child Menstrual Health Education Outreach by Oriental Energy Resources Limited is an integrated advocacy, sensitization awareness and empowerment initiative. Among other expected outcomes, adolescent girls will learn how to use clean and disposable menstrual management materials such as sanitary pads. As part of today’s event, we will empower each JSS2 and JSS3 female student with 12 months (one year) supply of sanitary pads”
Miss Aniedi Etim, the CEO of Aniedi Etim Foundation, the NGO driving the Pad A Girl Child Project, said as a foundation, they prioritize menstrual health and female child education.
“I started by providing female children with pad to enable them go the school. There are very many ways to empower a child. I want people to know that every child is equally if given the necessary training and attention.
“A good number of Nigerian school girls do not know what sanitary pad looks like not to talk about how to use it. Period poverty has led to girls stopping going to school and even dropping out of school to become victim of human trafficking.” Etim said.
She thanked the Oriental Energy Resources Limited the first company in Nigeria to invest in menstrual health hygiene for the girl child.
Etim who also donated government approved literature text book Not a Safe Place, which she is the author, said the exercise would also be held on Thursday at Amanyam Community Secondary School, Mbiaso in Ikot Ekpene. A total of about 1000 school female student are expected to benefit from the sanitary pad programme in the two schools.
