For close to a decade, Nana Ama Adutwumwaa has spearheaded menstrual hygiene campaigns across the country. Ms Adutwumwaa’s advocacy started long before many individuals and organisations waded into the discussion around the topic.
Through her non-profit organisation – Touching the Lives of Girls Foundation International (TTLGFI), she has over the years partnered with the Ghana Education Service(GES) and visited many schools across the country, especially those in remote areas.
With the help of traditional and community leaders, Ms. Adutwumwaa has helped to demystify the taboos around menstruation, provided adequate information and normalised conversations around menstruation.
At the recently held Pan African, American Trade & Investment Conference ( PAAC) Awards held in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America, she received the Health and Wellness Advocate Award.
A citation from organisers said her award was in recognition of her “tireless efforts in promoting health and wellness initiatives that benefit African youth”.
In an interview, Ms. Adutwumwaa said the award had humbled her as she did not envisage such international recognition when she started her advocacy years ago.
“This journey began out of my personal struggles with improper menstrual hygiene, which nearly claimed my life. I only set out to share my journey with my younger sisters.”
She said it was not easy speaking openly about a subject considered taboo but with the support of community leaders and dedicated teachers, she was able to start these conversations.
She recounted that in the early days, aside from funding most of her activities personally, she also struggled to get platforms to speak about her initiatives.
“Last week when I saw the launch of the National Sanitary Pad Distribution Programme by President John Dramani Mahama, I was very excited. This is a conversation I started years ago and with the support of some benevolent organisations, we have donated sanitary pads to many girls across the country.
“I was also excited that the conversation around menstruation and the challenges many girls faced because of a natural occurrence were being discussed openly.
“A few years back, we struggled to get media placements because some media houses thought these issues would upset their viewers or readers and so seeing it become an issue for national dialogue truly warmed my heart,” she explained.
She said over the years, her organisation has also added sexual education and empowerment sessions to their activities.
“We realised that most of the girls we interacted with had low confidence and could not express themselves well. Also, during our questions and answers segments, we found out that aside the myths on menstruation, they had very little knowledge on sex.
“Over the years, our gynaecologist has added detailed sexual education and taught them how to take care of their bodies.
“Our mentors and speakers have also shared their life and career experiences to motivate the girls and we are happy with the outcome of these sessions,” she added.
She expressed gratitude to some organisations who have supported her activities, saying: “Over the years, we have received support from Eximbank Ghana, Access Bank Limited, Sunda Ghana Ltd., Vitamilk Ghana Ltd., Twellium Industrial Company Ltd., Opportunity International Savings & Loans, and Promasidor Ghana Limited”.
“These businesses and others have helped us reach more girls across the country and we are grateful for their support.”
Ms. Adutwumwaa appealed to other businesses to support the initiative as there are still many places to visit.
“Each year we distribute sanitary pads to not less than 6000 girls in schools, but the requests keep coming from other places and this shows that there’s more we can do if we get more support.”
