19th January, 2022
In its bid to advocate free sanitary pads for young girls in Nigeria and also to promote hygienic menstrual periods for them, Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF), Nigeria, recently gave free sanitary pads to schoolgirls in Ekiti State. That was in collaboration with the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Development and Sustainability (CIKDAS).
Princess Jumoke Owoola, the Project Director of CIKDAS, led the team of Community Advocates who distributed the sanitary pads to the girls in seven different schools in Ekiti. She said that inability of the girls to have free access to sanitary pads had posed bigger problems on many occasions. She added that efforts from organizations like AHF “is one of the best ways to solve the problem.”
She declared: “Though Ekiti State Government is ahead of many states on sanitary pads education and free supply of pads to those in need, getting supports from organizations and interventions of NGOs will go a long way in realizing the desired efforts.”
Mr. Steve Aborisade who is the AHF (Nigeria) Advocacy and Marketing manager revealed that his organization “is out to highlight the importance of menstrual hygiene management with the sole purpose of providing young females of menstruating age with free sanitary pads.”
Aborisade remarked further that there is a need to support young girls and women to improve healthy life and sanitary condition.
In all, the team visited seven schools. No fewer than 240 students benefited. The beneficiaries were grateful to AHF (Nigeria) for reaching the rural areas too.
One of the girls who was menstruating during the advocacy visit was happy that the timely intervention would make her save her pocket money for the month. Moreover, the gesture would go a long way in making her take charity work as a priority in the journey of her life.
In her words: “Yes, I was given just a packet that will last me for this month, the assurance that I will have my pocket money intact and maintain a hygienic period will be evergreen in my memory”.