CouldYou?, an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to curating, providing and scaling sustainable solutions to period poverty and malaria, has collaborated with Inspire Today, a girls and women empowerment NGO, to donate 500 menstrual cups to girls in Yilo Krobo Senior High School.
The partnership between the two NGOs is aimed at finding a sustainable menstrual hygiene practice, one that does not require investing in monthly pads.
The CouldYou? menstrual cup is a menstrual absorbent which can be used for 5-10 years and, therefore, produces significantly less waste than other MHH materials.
While cups require water for boiling, they need far less than reusable pads or cloths. The cup allows its user to safely handle menstruation without reccurring costs for many years.
Country Manager of CouldYou?, Kofi Kyeremateng Nyanteng, explained that the partnership with Inspire Today affords his team the opportunity to support girls and marginalised women to win the fight against period poverty, which is a threat to their health and career development.
“There are proven solutions for accelerating progress toward a future in which every girl can obtain the quality healthcare, education and skills she needs to succeed. Menstrual health issues are heavily linked to girls absenteeism and drop-out of school, low self-esteem, teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.
This is our way of addressing period poverty with the menstrual cup and continuous menstrual hygiene education. The menstrual cup presents the best solution to addressing the menstrual needs of girls and women.’’
Executive Director for Inspire Today, Etornam Sey, called on government, GES, corporate institutions and even churches to join force to make issues of menstrual hygiene among the girl-child a priority.
She stressed that challenges arising out of menstruation should not be the reason why girls cannot pursue their dreams. She suggested that concerted efforts must be made by all stakeholders to end menstrual poverty among school children.
The partnership between CouldYou? and Inspire Today in Yilo Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana is to mark the International Day of the Girl-Child 2024 on the theme ‘Girls Vision for the Future’.
