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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), in partnership with stakeholders in Keffi Local Government in Nasarawa State, has established a sanitary pad bank to ensure the availability of sanitary pads for women and girls.
The decision to establish the sanitary pad bank was reached at an event organized by AHF to mark the 2023 Menstrual Health (MH), Day, a day to highlight the importance of menstrual care and raise awareness about issues faced by women and girls who do not have access to clean water and sanitary products.
This year’s MH Day is celebrated with the 2023 global theme, “End The Stigma on Periods”.
The event organised by AHF, in collaboration with Keffi LG, Keffi Primary Healthcare Agency and Keffi Ministry of Women Affairs, was also used to sensitize both secondary school students, women in Keffi and their male counterparts, to end period shaming and stigma on menstruation.
Speaking at the event, a Director with AHF Nigeria, Emma Nwabueze, said the Foundation was creating awareness to end the stigma around menstruation while ensuring young women and girls have access to menstrual pads.
He said the natural occurrence had caused many girls to stay out of school due to lack of financial power to purchase pads, misconceptions and myths around menstruation, hence the need to educate everyone.
“This event is organized to educate women, the girl child, the male child and everybody on issues surrounding menstrual stigma. Some of our girls miss school because they are on their menstrual period, and some do not go to school because their parents do not have money to buy the products.
“Some of our girls cannot open up to tell their parents what is happening to their bodies. That is why we are here to advocate and tell people that menstruation is clean, not dirty,” Nwabueze said.
He affirmed that the sanitary pad bank by AHF in collaboration with its partners was to ensure continuous availability of pads in facilities for girls in school and out of school during emergency situations.
Chairman of Keffi LGA, Mr Muhammed Baba-Shehu appreciated AHF for choosing the domain as one of the beneficiaries of the programme acknowledging that menstruation is a silent area that affects women and girls.
Baba-Shehu who spoke through the Council Secretary, Muhammed Adamu, promised that Keffi will collaborate with the Foundation in contributing to boosting the pad bank.
He also said they will train their people to go into local production of sanitary pads to make it more available and affordable for the beneficiaries and urged parents, teachers and guardians to support their children to end shame and discrimination and ensure good hygiene when menstruating.
The Supervisory Counsellor Women Affairs Keffi LG, Mrs Aisha Basha, said the ministry was saddled with the responsibility of educating young women and girls on menstrual health and management, saying the sensitisation was aimed at breaking the silence on stigma and shame as it affects menstruation.
Some of the schools at the event, including Government Secondary School Keffi, and St Williams Government Secondary School, among others, benefitted from the free menstrual pads distributed to students just as some of the students thanked AFH for the good gesture and enlightenment.
