President launches Free Sanitary Pad Initiative… to benefit 2 million girls

 The President, John Dramani Mahama, yesterday launched the Free Sanitary Pad Initiative that seeks to benefit at least two million school girls in public basic and secondary schools across the country.

Held under the theme; “Improving menstrual health and hygiene for girls for quality educa­tion,” the initiative aims to improve menstrual health and hygiene among girls to reduce absen­teeism and stigma, support the overall well-be­ing and academic performance of girls.

Launching the initiative, President Mahama highlighted the challenges girls face during their menstrual cycle, including missing school due to lack of access to proper sanitary products.

According to him, research has shown that girls miss up to five school days each month, amounting to nearly 40 days of schooling a year.

“This is not just a statistic. It represents a young girl failing, falling behind in class, losing her confidence and struggling to catch up because of what is a natural biological process,” the President observed.

The initiative, President Mahama explained was more than just the distribution of sani­tary pads, but a clear declaration that “no girl in Ghana should miss school because of her menstrual period”.

He maintained that the initiative aligned with the country’s goals and global commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5, which focus on quality education and gender equality; a testament of the country’s commitment to protecting the future of its girls and promoting their resilience.

“This programme exists to remove one of the silent yet powerful obstacles standing in the way of our girl-child’s dreams. “We are acting today to restore hope to the girls who thought they had to sit out for several days every month, hope to parents who worried about how to provide these essential products to their daugh­ters, and hope to a nation that wants every child to rise regardless of their background or their gender,” President Mahama stated.

The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, said the initiative aimed to break the silence around menstruation, end period poverty, and create a society where every girl could thrive with confi­dence, pride, and dignity.

“By providing access to free sanitary pads, we are not only supporting girls’ health but also empowering them to stay in school and succeed,” she said.

Dr Lartey emphasised that the initiative has been welcomed as a significant step towards achieving gender equality and improving the lives of girls in the country.

“It is expected to have a positive impact on girls’ education, health, and overall well-being, and serves as a model for other countries to follow,” she said.

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, said the launch of the programme marked the beginning of the end to the emotional trauma and indignity many young girls faced due to their natural biological process.

“No girl child in Ghana should miss school because she cannot afford sanitary pads, so this bold initiative will improve school attendance, increase retention, and enhance academic per­formance,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu stated that measures had been put in place to ensure the effective distribution of sanitary pads to all public schools in the country.

 BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI

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