Anambra First Lady unveils pad bank to promote menstrual health

The wife of Anambra State Governor, Nonye Soludo, has launched a Pad Bank in Anambra schools to promote menstrual health and mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child.

The event held at the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, on Wednesday, was attended by female pupils from schools across the state alongside their guiding councillors and ambassadors.

It was done under the ‘Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo initiative’ and also featured lectures on girls’ child rights and sexuality, girls’ child life skill training, innovative career/ digital skills and drama presentation.

Delivering her address during the event, Soludo noted that celebrating this year’s International Day of the Girl Child was a clear understanding of the challenges before girls in their pursuit of a safe and great future.

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She said, “We are also looking at the possibility out there for the girls and how they can take hold of them. But, the truth is that these opportunities are limited and distorted largely because of so many household obstacles.

“Every girl has the fundamental right to live and succeed. Once we deny them these rights, we have taken a backward step that will ultimately have damaging effects on our society.

“One of the significant goals of our crusade of ‘Healthy living with Nonye Soludo’ is to explore smart avenues and rekindle the consciousness of self-belief and knowledge of the individual potential of our girls.

“We are also teaching them the rules of hygiene, nutrition and self-development. Nutrition and personal hygiene are, of course, two of the five pillars of our crusade. We see them as an important process for child development. In the area of hygiene, we are also looking at menstrual hygiene and the overall health education of women and girls, especially those in the low-income class.”

The governor’s wife also pointed out that the ‘Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo’ has taken a step further to promote menstrual hygiene in Secondary Schools where Healthy Living Club is domiciled, adding that arrangements have been concluded to provide sanitary pad banks in over 400 secondary schools across Anambra State where their clubs are currently operating.

She disclosed that the statistics of girls and women in their reproductive age bracket with access to basic menstrual requirements are begging for better attention, stressing that the distribution of sanitary pads is a way of paying attention to that.

She assured of an adequate commitment to promoting and protecting the fundamental objectives of right health, stating that they want to achieve a society that opens up a platform of equal aspiration for every gender.

“Accessibility to primary hygiene needs like sanitary Pad Banks remains a major concern in rural homes. It gets even worse when menstrual emergencies break out in schools. Therefore, we want to intervene where it matters the most.

“Today, we will be distributing thousands of sanitary pads to our schools to kick off the campaign. Subsequent distributions will be done at the beginning of each academic term, with enough supplies to last throughout a particular academic calendar.”

“Take your education seriously, no matter any distraction. Whatever you want to achieve lies in your hands. Success is 95% achieved through hard work. You must work hard. It is through education you can aspire to any level and it will bring you out of the shackles of poverty. Therefore, empower yourself,” she added.