Girls to Women Foundation, a nongovernmental organization working for the girl-child and women empowerment in the northern regions of Ghana has sensitized over one hundred selected basic school girls on personal hygiene especially during their period and distributed mensural cups [reusable mensural products] to them.
The beneficiary girls were selected from the Gbalahi, Kulaa, Wovogo and Gbrima Junior High Schools all in the Sagnarigu municipality in the Northern Region.
The NGO held the community outreach to mark this year’s World Mensural Hygiene Day which is being observed annually to create awareness about the importance of good mensural hygiene, the significance of access to mensural products to all and breaking down all forms of social taboos or stigma with mensuration.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Hajia Mariam Iddrisu, in her remarks highlighted the donation project title is Redefining Mensural Care: Embracing Sustainable and Eco-friendly Periods with Mensural Cups.
She noted that the mensural hygiene day celebration is basically an awareness day on mensuration stressing mensuration is a normal biological process in a woman or girl’s life.
But unfortunately, she lamented many women and girls do not have enough information about mensuration and as a result in 2013 the idea of commemorating the World Mensural Hygiene Day was conceived.
“And so around 2014, Mensural Hygiene Day celebration started and since then we have been doing it over the years just to highlight the perceptions that comes with mensuration and the shortage or lack of mensural products in the system especially in developing countries which Ghana is not an exception” she emphasized.
She added, “So as an organization over the years we have worked partnered with organizations and individuals to commemorate the day by way of donating sanitary pads just to highlight the need for a sustainable mensural products, not just donating mensural products, we also give education on mensural hygiene management for the girls that we normally target”.
Hajia Mariam said her organization decided this year to distribute mensural cups because they are more sustainable and environmentally friendly, adding a mensural cup could last up to ten years when they are managed well.
She seized the opportunity to commend organizations and individuals such NORSAAC, RAINS, the Office Dagbon Zosimlinaa, Chief Ife Bell Tipagya and Alhaji Halim Tikuma among others who have supported the humanitarian exercise.
Project Manager of Red Revolution, Nana Aqua Maakyere, for her part explained the mensural cups are available options from the usual disposable pads, stating mensural cups are made from medical silicone grade which could last a user for a period of ten years.
She maintained this is sustainable and economical and would help to keep the environment safe from plastic waste.
The teenagers who were left full of excitement after receiving the products commended the intervention of Girls to Women Foundation.
