Dr Emmanuel Manu, Head of Department, Population and Behavioural Sciences, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, UHAS, says there is the need for educating girls on the use of locally produced reusable menstrual pads to help them deal with problems associated with pad affordability during menstruation.
He said the education on the pads would erase some myths surrounding menstruation such as ‘it is a taboo to touch menstrual blood.’
‘Menstruation is a biological and reproduction process without which one will not be born so people should not feel shy to touch menstrual blood.’
Dr Manu, speaking during the climax of activities to mark this year’s World Menstrual Hygiene Celebration in Hohoe, said menstrual hygiene had been a problem with girls from rural areas when it came to menstruation.
He noted that most girls in rural areas nationwide and in the Volta Region were from poor homes and hardly afforded pads during their menstrual periods.
Dr Manu said when the girls get equipped in producing their own pads, it would help them afford more pads since the materials used were less expensive.
He urged girls to always be hygienic when they were on their periods and not be shy whilst they went through the period and also teach their colleagues about menstruation.
Miss Portia Owusu Annor, the Facilitator, noted that reusable pads were hygienic, absorbable, clean, durable, and repeatable.
She said the reusable pads had no chemicals in the materials used which in a long way do not pose dangers to the users.
Miss Annor said the advantages of the reusable pads were that the user could design the length and thickness of the pads according to their preferences.
She said reusable pads were the preferable choice of the users since they met the desires, patterns, and designs to suit their comfort.
Mr Israel Wuresah, a Member of the Organising Committee, said it was their mission to create awareness to ensure that people had good knowledge about menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
He said one of the key areas being looked at was to end period poverty by teaching girls how to produce their own menstrual materials they needed to be able to manage their menstruation.
Mr Wuserah said equipping girls with the skills to produce their menstrual materials would be in the short term while they hoped the government took off taxes on menstrual materials.
He said their aim was ending period stigma where young menstruating girls were being stigmatised by their colleagues and male parents such as restricting the girls from some tasks at home.
Mr Wuserah said they hoped to extend the education to all young girls while hoping that beneficiaries would continue to teach their friends.
Ms Juanita Agyei, a 10-year-old pupil from Momo Montessori School and a participant said she was delighted with the knowledge imparted to help her when she began to menstruate.
More than 100 girls from selected schools in the Hohoe Municipality, teachers and some seamstresses benefitted from the activities to mark the Day held on the theme: ‘Ending Period Stigma.’
Other activities carried out included a float, radio talk, a donation to Gbi Special School and talks on menstrual hygiene.
Source: Ghana News Agency
