…Advocate for funding of pad banks in schools…
By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
As part efforts to commemorate World menstrual hygiene day , the Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN), a network of civil society organizations, non-profit organizations, NGOs, and community-based organizations (CBOs) have donated sanitary pads to no fewer than 100 school girls at the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Birshi Fulani in Bauchi State.
The State Coordinator NEWSAN, Danish Mwalike who spoke with Journalists shortly after leading the distribution at the premises of the school on Wednesday in Bauchi, said that the intervention was part of activities to commemorate the 2025 Menstrual Hygiene Day.
She said that it is important for schools to have sustainable pad banks so that girls can have access to pads whenever they are having their period and called on stakeholders in the society to invest in menstrual hygiene in order to impact positively the lives of women and girls.
“We are here today to commemorate this day with the adolescent girls of this school which is very important because the theme for the year is “Together towards period friendly World” which is a call for collective action for all hands to be on deck to support Menstrual Hygiene. This include school authorities, parents and guardians, girls and everyone that has concern and share in this burden to support women and girls to have a period friendly World.
“We have donated additional pads for the pad banks for emergency situations so that girls will not be deterred from attending school and have access to the pads in the school.During the sensitization, the girls were also educated about pre and post-menstrual signs and how to manage them without having any infections, using clean water, and disposing of the pad appropriately.We also advocated to the School in the area of infrastructure like the girls having access to water, hygienic toilets, safe disposal bins, the absence of these facilities can pose as challenges for the girls from having a safe period”
“We also encourage the use of reusable pads, it is very important for a girl to maintain hygiene during her period because lack of hygiene can lead to a lot of health challenges like urinary track infections, rashes and odour and other health issues for them.So it is important for the girls to have access to water so that they can have thier bath at least twice in a day and change their sanitary pads at intervals depending on the flow”She said
Responding, the Vice-Principal of the School, Mrs Keziya Joshua appreciated the gesture the organization, saying that Menstrual Hygiene was an integral aspect of the school as many of the adolescent girls have already reached the age where they were seeing their monthly flow.
Keziya said that the donation of the pads will go a long way in helping the girls considering the fact that the cost of pads was increasing the day even as she called on other organizations to assist in the funding of the pad banks in girls secondary schools in the state.
Two students of the school Joy Friday and Rahila Bitrius thanked the organization for the donation of the pads, saying that they were sensitized on how to take care of themselves during their period.