Students from Kithangari Girls High School in Meru County receive sanitary towels and soaps from Echo-Africa Network. PHOTO. COURTESY
Education stakeholders have urged the government to ensure that sanitary towels are accessible to all school going children both in primary and secondary levels.
They say that lack of sanitary towel among the school going children who have attained the puberty age has rendered them venerable forcing them to skip classes.
They regretted that lack of commitment by both the county and the national government to provide free sanitary towels has led to absenteeism or total drop out from school by the girls.
They were speaking at Kithangari Girls High School in South Imenti Sub county , Meru County where Echo Network Africa a non-governmental organization were doing mentorship and donating free sanitary towels to the students.
According to Echo Africa Network representative Santa Sebastian many girls don’t give out their best in life because of the stigma surrounding them.
“We at Echo Africa Network are trying to work together with other education stakeholders not in government to ensure that we assist the girls. Governments both county and the national government should chip-in and assist us, especially the national government by exempting duties on sanitary towels”, Santa noted.
Global health organizations are trying to build a world where no one is held back because of the normal menstrual cycle by the year 2030.
Woman advocates also on the other hand have urged the government to exempt tax from sanitary towels to make them affordable to everyone, especially in learning institutions.
Students Kithangari Girls High School appreciated the donation with some of them noting that they were unable to afford the sanitary towels.
“We are extremely happy for the gifts of sanitary towels because some of us are unable to afford them since they come from very humble background and we are forced to share the little we have”, said Caroline Kathambi, a student at Kithangari Girls High School.
Menstrual hygiene challenges are not confined to one region or country.
Women and girls all over the country face problems accessing clean water, sanitation, and affordable menstrual products among other necessities.
Cultural barriers and stigmas are also barriers which often lead to social exclusion and a lack of education on menstrual health.
Menstrual products which are Eco-friendly, such as reusable sanitary pads and menstrual cups, are increasingly becoming popular as a way of choosing sustainable options due to financial constraints for one to afford ordinary sanitary towels which are not reusable.
Unfortunately whereas menstrual hygiene is essential to girls and women’s health and well-being, millions of girls and women worldwide lack access to proper menstrual hygiene facilities and products.
According to world Health Organization in there 2023 year report, on any given day, more than 300 million women worldwide are menstruating.
In total, an estimated 500 million lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM).
