Enact laws to prioritise menstrual health among girls – Plan International
The Country Director of Plan International Ghana, Mr Constant Tchona, has appealed to the government to enact laws and enforce policies that would prioritise menstrual health and hygiene among women and young girls, to remove stigma and other challenges confronting girls during their menstrual periods.
Mr Tchona said the successful enactment of laws would enable the government to integrate menstrual health into the national education policies and allocate sufficient funding for menstrual education programmes in the country.
The Country Director of Plan International Ghana made the appeal at the 2024 World Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration at the Bueman Senior High School (SHS) at Jasikan in the Jasikan Municipality of the Oti Region on the theme: “Together for a Period Friendly World’’.
Mr Tchona said adequate sanitation facilities, including clean and private toilets facilities for menstrual health management, were essential for maintaining dignity and hygiene during menstruation, and stressed that the government and stakeholders must invest in the construction and maintenance of menstrual girl-friendly infrastructure particularly in schools.
According to him, access to affordable and sustainable menstrual health products should be regarded as human rights issues, and conscious efforts should be made towards eliminating financial barriers, and ensuring that girls, regardless of their socio-economic status, would have access to a range of safe and hygienic menstrual products.
Mr Tchona observed that a comprehensive menstrual health education was the cornerstone of empowerment, therefore efforts must be made to eliminate “myths and misconceptions surrounding menstruation through appropriate culture sensitive education.”
The Country Director of Plan International Ghana presented hygienic menstrual pads to the girls of Bueman SHS to mark the occasion, and said his outfit was committed to the promotion of menstrual health and hygiene among girls in school.
The Jasikan Municipal Chief Executive, Mrs Elizebeth Kessewaa Adjorno, asked girls in schools to exhibit good personal hygiene during their menstrual periods, and should not be intimidated through stigma, and described menstrual period as “a natural phenomenon.”
Mrs Adjorno also asked girls to be focused and take their studies more seriously, and expressed concern that she had collected a promise ring from one of the girls of Bueman SHS, which she said was unfortunate development that while girls are in school, they should learn hard and pass their examinations rather than thinking about marriage.
The Headmaster of Bueman SHS, Mr Frank K. Boamah, commended Plan International Ghana for the provision of pads for the girls in the school, and announced that the school had a total population of 2,955 out of which 1,650 are girls, therefore needed to be supported in their menstrual health and hygiene.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, JASIKAN
