The AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Keffi Local Government Area in Nasarawa State collaborated on a project on Wednesday to educate children about the stigma associated with menstrual health and the difficulties associated with maintaining it.
Dr. Emmanuel Nwabueze, the Foundation’s medical director in Nigeria, said during a speech at the occasion that the Foundation intended to guarantee that young girls and women had access to quality menstrual pads.
Dr Emmanuel said, “Some of our girls miss school because they are having their period, and some don’t attend to school because their parents can’t afford the supplies”.
“Some of our girls find it difficult to tell their parents what is going on with their bodies. We are here to campaign for menstruation and to inform people that it is clean, not unclean.
Together with the Keffi Ministry of Women Affairs, the Keffi Primary Healthcare Agency, and the LGA, the Foundation established a sanitary pad bank.
The goal of the sanitary pad bank is to continuously supply pads to facilities for girls in and out of the classroom.
Muhammed Baba-Shehu, the Executive Chairman of Keffi LGA, also spoke and praised the Foundation for picking Keffi LGA as one of its program recipients.
We want to engage with the Foundation, and we are assuring that we will try our best to contribute to the pad bank, Baba-Shehu, who was represented by Muhammed Adamu, the Secretary of the LGA, stated.
He promised, “We’ll also look into how we can train our people to make the sanitary pads to help our women and girls.
In addition, Baba-Shehu advised parents, educators, and mentors to help their kids stop the stigma and discrimination attached to the feminine gender when they menstruate and to make sure they practice excellent hygiene.
Aisha Basha, the Keffi LGA’s Counselor for Women Affairs, said that the ministry is charged with imparting knowledge on menstruation health and management to young women and girls.
“We realize that most of our kids are bashful, especially as they approach the reproductive stage, so this is crucial. They prefer to hide and handle the matter alone rather than talking to their parents about menstruation or any other physical changes, she noticed.
“I learned that when I am seeing my period, I should keep my body clean, take my bath, and change my pad on a regular basis,” said one of the participants, an ECWA Government Junior Secondary School student from Keffi, Gift Ibe. I also learned not to be embarrassed about my period and to talk to my parents or teachers at school if I have any problems or am in discomfort.
