In some developing and underdeveloped countries, access to menstrual hygiene education and products is a major challenge women and girls face. During menstruation, such women and girls are restricted at home due to stigma or not being able to afford sanitary pads. Myths and taboos about menstruation have also negatively affected the way some people behave towards women and girls when they are menstruating. School going girls in deprived communities will always have to deal with teases from their male colleagues. In Ghana, it has been found that 95% of girls from low-income settings miss or struggle at school during their menstruation.
Sexual reproductive health and mental health are fundamental to people’s health and survival, to economic development, and to the wellbeing of humanity. Every girl or woman experiences menstruation as part of her genetic make-up every month. Unfortunately, these girls from deprived communities are not able to have access to good menstrual hygiene and products.
The PR Boys, a group of young men who completed the Ghana Institute of Journalism, have launched their project called ‘Let’s Pad Them Project’. This project seeks to educate people especially girls about menstrual hygiene and to ensure that myths, taboos and stigma around menstruation are addressed by providing girls with access to information on menstruation. Through this, minimizing discrimination to promote social unity will be achieved.
This initiative aims at reducing the level of absenteeism among girls in rural areas by providing them with sanitary pads. The project will also educate these girls on sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and mental health. The goal of this project is to reach 5000 girls in 5years and provision of sanitary pads will be done yearly until they get to the age where they are able to provide for themselves.
The kick start of this project will commence on 28th May, 2021, which marks the World Menstrual Health Day. The project will start with 100 girls of Otabikrom D/A School in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa district in the Central Region of Ghana.
Source: wenomedia
