The Advocacy and Marketing for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Benue State, the Nasarawa State Menstrual Hygiene Management Project, in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Human Capital Development Agency, have given sanitary pads to female students across the states in celebration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
The Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management at a global level. It was initiated by the German-based NGO WASH United in 2013 and observed for the first time in 2014.
The theme for World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024 is ‘Period friendly world.’
Head of AHF, Steve Aborisade, said that AHF would establish a pad bank in Angwan-Jukun, Makurdi, Benue State.
Speaking to journalists during the distribution of sanitary pads and a lecture to over 100 young girls in the Angwan-Jukun community on Tuesday, Aborisade explained that the pad bank would help young girls manage menstrual care issues.
The event, organised by AHF to commemorate Menstrual Health Day, highlighted the community’s vulnerability to early pregnancy and teenage prostitution, prompting the selection of Angwan-Jukun for this initiative.
Aborisade emphasised the importance of creating awareness and providing comprehensive sex education to young girls.
He mentioned plans to collaborate with other partners to ensure the pad bank remained stocked for emergencies.
Earlier, a member of the State Assembly and Chairman of the Committee on SDGs and NGOs, Peter Uche, addressed the need for menstrual healthcare and praised AHF for the program, urging its expansion to other communities.
The lawmaker who applauded AHF for initiating the program urged the organisation to extend it to other communities in the state.
Also, in celebration of the 2024 International Menstrual Hygiene Day, the Nasarawa State Menstrual Hygiene Management Project, in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Human Capital Development Agency, distributed sanitary pads to 54 female students at the Government Special School, Lafia.
the project’s focal person, Patience Ayaka, said the theme, ‘Together for a period-friendly world’ stressed the importance of menstrual hygiene for reproductive health.
Ayaka highlighted the project’s focus on helping vulnerable girls with disabilities manage their menstruation with dignity.
“I, therefore, call on all of us to come together to break the silence and stigma surrounding mensuration. Let us work towards creating a world where every girl and woman can be free from the constraints of menstrual shame and fear,” Ayaka added.
The Director-General of the Nasarawa State Human Capital Development Agency, Habiba Balarabe-Suleiman, noted that many girls missed school during their periods due to a lack of access to sanitary products and facilities, and proposed a multifaceted approach including education, access to products, improved infrastructure, psychosocial support, and policy advocacy.
“Menstrual hygiene is not just a health issue; it is a matter of dignity, equality, and human rights. By working together to break the silence and stigma surrounding menstruation, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women and girls in Nasarawa State,” Habiba Balarabe-Suleiman added.
Dignitaries such as Chairman of the State’s Disability Rights Commission, Sale Barde; Head of Civil Service, Abigail Waya; General Manager of the State’s Water Board, Ahmed Kana; and the State’s Menstrual Hygiene Management Project pad ambassador, Tabitha Abimiku also attended the event.
