As an effort to highlight the importance of menstrual care for women and girls and raise awareness about the issues faced by those who don’t have access to sanitary products, Inspire Today extended support to more than 4,000 menstruating girls in Mallam Cluster of Schools.
The NGO collaborated with Wilmar Africa – producers of Jamaa soap, Jamaa detergent, Alife and the Fortune brands of products; as well as Familk Ghana Limited – producers of Fanice to support 8 different schools within the Mallam Cluster of Schools under the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Education Directorate of the Greater Accra Region.
Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management. It was initiated by the German-based NGO WASH United in 2014. Since then, individuals, corporate institutions and NGO’s such as Inspire Today have seized the day to champion the course of women and girls who do not have access to sanitary pads.
Founder and Executive Director of Inspire Today, Etornam Sey, underscored the need to bridge the gap between male and female enrolment in schools by supplying them with the necessary materials during menstruation.
“At Inspire Today, we believe that every girl, irrespective of your geographical location or economic background, deserves a dignified menstruation. In low-income countries, the choices of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by the costs, availability and social norms; and that is where we come in with this intervention to ensure the girls remain in school,” she said.
She also expressed concern about the high cost of sanitary pads, making it impossible to reach out to a large number of the girls who need it. She has, meanwhile, called on government to take a second look at the many taxes placed on sanitary pads in order to make the commodity less expensive and affordable for all. Step publishers, a Christian publishing house, seized the opportunity to donate books to the menstruating girls and encouraged them to read wide.
The theme for this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day is Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld. This is because we believe that in a #PeriodFriendlyWorld, the stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation are history. It is a world where everyone can access the products and be educated on periods and period-friendly infrastructure they need.
