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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has advocated for the provision of reusable pads for women and girls of menstrual age for a more sustainable period management.
UNICEF WASH Specialist, Mrs Rebecca Bolatito Gabriel, who made this call on the occasion of the 2024 World Menstrual Hygiene Day, also called on the government at all levels to ensure period-friendly facilities for girls in schools.
She further noted that it was also important that women and girls, while going through their menstrual cycle, are supported not only financially but also given emotional support.
According to Mrs Gabriel, “When a person is going through the period cycle, it’s not just about financial support as people like to think that money is provided to the person to afford the sanitary pad, soap and underwear, for the person to be clean, feel safe and confident.
“It’s beyond that. It’s also about emotional support. A lot of girls and women, whenever they are going through their menstrual cycle, there’s a period they experience pain, and they could be moody.
“It affects them emotionally and so there’s also the place of whoever is around such a person to be able to understand and also provide the necessary support in terms of emotion, understanding of what the person is passing through, and seek for ways you can help.
“Some people have to take drugs to be able to cope with pains during that period. Some people might decide to just be alone during this period. All of this shows the peculiarities of the menstrual cycle for a woman and for a girl child,” she said.
She noted that UNICEF has done a lot in several communities across the country and in schools, especially, to ensure that the girl child and girls are reached and are able to afford these things whenever they need them.
She stated that a more sustainable way for menstrual hygiene in terms of materials is the provision of a reusable pad.
“Reusable pads can be washed and reused. We have also noticed that when you provide disposable ones, it’s not realistic for you to be sustained and is only used at a particular time. So reusable pads are much more sustainable and don’t have the environmental implication of also littering the environment.”
While she noted that the reusable pads are also climate-friendly, Mrs Gabriel said, “When you consider climate change, we can avoid also polluting the environment.”
Speaking on the theme for this year’s celebration, “Period Friendly World”, the UNICEF WASH Specialist said all hands must be on deck to achieve a period-friendly world.
UNICEF urged the government to be involved in period-friendly roles by making a policy of ensuring that sanitary facilities, especially in schools where children go to most days of the week, address the needs of menstruating girls.
“Government must ensure that the sanitary facilities in schools are period-friendly and also have spaces where young girls are able to go to clean up that boys do not have to go there so as also to prevent gender-based violence and ensure that everyone feels confident and comfortable.”
