By Jones Anlimah
The National Youth Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has distributed sanitary pads to more than 300 female students in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region. The initiative was part of activities to commemorate this year’s International Youth Day.
The gesture aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3, which focuses on good health and well-being, and SDG 5, which promotes gender equality.
The distribution, aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene and addressing period poverty, supports SDG 3 by ensuring that young girls have access to essential health products. This helps reduce the risk of infections and absenteeism from school due to the lack of menstrual hygiene products.
It also contributes directly to SDG 5 by promoting gender equality. Menstrual health is a critical aspect of empowering women and girls, enabling them to participate fully in education without stigma or hindrance.
Over 1,200 sanitary pads of different brands were distributed across five schools, benefiting over 300 female students. Each student received five different brands of pads.
The beneficiary schools included Ho Bankoe R.C. Girls JHS, St. George’s Anglican JHS, The Grace Salvation Army Model JHS, A.M.E. Zion JHS, and Nuriya Islamic JHS, all located in the Ho municipality of the Volta Region.
The National Youth Vice Chairperson (Woman) of the Trades Union Congress, Belinda Cudjoe, emphasized the need for continued advocacy to ensure that menstrual health products are affordable and accessible to all young girls, especially in rural and underserved communities. She stated, “Sanitary pads have become a bit expensive, and many girls, not all but most, struggle to afford them during that time of the month, making it difficult for them to attend school.”
Ms. Cudjoe added, “We decided to take the initiative to provide sanitary pads to our sisters or the girl child in these five schools in the region. The enthusiasm from the female students has shown us that we have indeed met a critical need, and we hope to continue this initiative annually.”
Head teachers of the beneficiary schools commended the leadership of the National Youth Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for the gesture and urged other organizations to follow suit, as this would enable more girls to stay in school.
Some students expressed gratitude for the support and highlighted how the provision of sanitary pads would help them stay in school and boost their confidence. “My name is Asare Esther, and I attend Nuriya Islamic Basic School. I want to thank them very much. May God bless them. This will help me use the money I had saved for pads to buy something else.”
The students were also educated on menstrual hygiene management to help break the taboos surrounding menstruation and promote awareness of the challenges girls face, which often hinder their education and overall well-being.
