Chima Azubuike
Due to the continued absence of female Gombe students from school during mensuration, the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All, has organised training for no fewer than 60 participants on the production of reusable pads.
PUNCH Health Wise reports that participants were drawn from schools within the metropolis and they include Arabic College I and II (Junior/Senior), Gombe Day Secondary Senior School Pilot and Inuwa Yahaya Demonstration School.
The State Coordinator of CSACEFA, Abubakar Hussaini, said the training was organised in commemoration of Global Action Week for Education, 2023, with support from Global Partnership for Education and Education OutLoud.
He explained that the training would bridge the needed gap in the availability of sanitary pads, caused by economic realities, adding that the materials are safe and could be sourced locally in the market.
He said, “We are going to teach the students how to make reusable pads and how to use it themselves. This is because we realised that mensuration makes some of them not to attend school and this is because of the economic situation of the country. So we felt that if they are taught how to use it, they can fix their menstrual issues. This will make the students to go to school and learn.”
On her part, Desk Officer, Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria project, Ministry of Education, Lami Garkuwa, expressed optimism that the training would increase class attendance and encourage menstrual hygiene amongst participants.
She disclosed that the 60 girls would serve as trainers to their other colleagues, adding, “The girls will use most of what they produce. They can sell and also use it to improve their economic situation instead of using the one that will make the toilet full. They can use it for three to six months, what they need to do is to wash and dry it before usage.”
Earlier this year, the former Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, disclosed that over 37 million girls and women cannot afford menstrual hygiene products, thus, are unable to safely manage their periods.
She noted that this limits their ability to study, work and live their lives normally.
The inability to afford menstrual hygiene products, experts say makes them resort to using cheaper, unhygienic alternatives such as tissue papers, rags and old newspapers which have been proven has harmful effects on a woman’s sexual reproductive health.
Such practices predispose them to increased risk for reproductive and urinary tract infections and in the long run, infertility and complications during childbirth