By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
Action Aid Ghana (AAG) and its local partner – Jirapa Farmers Network (JiFAN) – in collaboration with Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, and other stakeholders, have organised a forum to mark the 2024 World Menstrual Hygiene Day at Jirapa in the Upper West Region.
The participants were drawn from Girls Empowerment Platforms and the Young Urban Women’s Movement in Jirapa Municipality and Lambussie District.
GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo in this piece says there was a float through some of the principal streets of Jirapa to kick-start the event. Marking of the day, among others, was aimed at highlighting the importance of menstrual care as well as raising awareness about the challenges those who do not have access to menstrual products face.
The Upper West Regional Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Madam Abiba Nibaradun, observed that, in spite of socio-economic advancement, there are a lot of challenges connected to the menstruation of young girls and vulnerable women.
She indicated that the price of sanitary pads in the market is still quite high, adding that in Ghana, over 50% of the population are females who, on a monthly basis, have to buy pads, with the lowest price of pads costing GHS 15.00 and some costing up to GHS 20.00, which is beyond the means of many young girls.
Madam Nibaradun stated that apart from the high cost of sanitary pads, the stigma associated with menses or menstruation is equally another challenge, saying that in some places or households there are myths that women who are menstruating are not supposed to cook for certain people or allowed to go to certain places.
The Upper West Regional Manager of AAG therefore called on those who hold such beliefs to discard them and end the stigma in order to promote effective management of menstruation. She announced that AAG and JiFAN have distributed over 1000 reusable sanitary kits to basic school girls in their project communities.
Madam Nibaradun stressed the need for the government to take a look at the hidden taxes on locally produced sanitary pads. The Jirapa Municipal Public Health Nurse and Adolescent Focal Person, Madam Florence Darimaani, who took the participants through proper menstruation management, stressed the necessity for females in their menses to wash their hands before using their sanitary pads and do the same after removing them.
The Jirapa Municipal Director of Education, Huudu Kunaateh, commended AAG and its partners for their efforts in empowering young girls and women. He, however, regretted that some people, especially men, have been stigmatising females for menstruating and stressed the need for us to see women as our natural partners who have to menstruate in order to carry out their natural assignment of procreation.
The Gender Desk Officer in Jirapa, Madam Lydia Ninberewe, described the forum as an eye-opener and entreated participants to go back to their communities to educate others so they could also preach the gospel of friendliness and support women and young women in any possible way during their menstrual journey.
As part of the programme, 100 reusable sanitary kits were distributed to members of the Girls Empowerment Platforms and Young Urban Women’s Movement in attendance.
The focus of the event was “Together for a Period Friendly World”.
