One Whole Future Foundation, a non-governmental organization has launched a comprehensive campaign aimed at equipping and supporting adolescent girls in rural areas of the country with sanitary pads as well as educating them on the need for menstrual hygiene.
The campaign, dubbed “Period Matters, Pad a Girl” was launched on Friday, May 27, 2022 as part of the organization’s efforts at eliminating Menstrual Health Management (MHM) illiteracy among 15,000 Ghanaian girls.
Globally, five hundred (500) million young girls who menstruate are estimated to lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities.
In Ghana, however, it is no different. Girls in most rural communities cannot afford sanitary towels and as a result are unable to go to school, work or otherwise participate in daily life activities.
This in a statement issued and signed by Executive Director, Madam Akosua Manu said the campaign is meant to reduce by at least 50 per cent (50%) menstrual-related absenteeism in targeted communities in line with the organization’s vision of creating a world where no woman or girl is kept from realizing her full potential because of her period.
The campaign will be piloted in target areas like Upper Denkyira East in the Central Region with targeted schools benefiting from a well-structured sensitization and awareness creation exercise, as well as a good number of reusable sanitary pads with a lifespan of up to five (5) years.
As part of the campaign, the organization will provide brochures and manuals for sensitization purposes.
It will also establish Girl Guides, an outreach platform that will ensure continuity of MHM conversations, periodically supply useful resource materials, and help address menstrual hygiene and its associated problems in targeted communities.