A not-for-profit organisation, Pencils of Promise, in partnership with Fidelity Bank and Hallmark Medicals have intensified its campaign on promoting menstrual hygiene in the Volta Region.

The initiative includes raising awareness of menstrual hygiene and emphasizing the provision of water, sanitation, and hygienic facilities to promote menstrual hygiene management in schools.

This year’s Menstrual Hygeine Day which was on the theme “Together for #Period Friedly World” was commemorate at the Anlo Afiadenyigba E.P Basic School with a stakeholders' durbar.

The day was marked with a public education on menstrual hygiene, iced with the provision of menstrual hygiene materials to pupils from five basic schools in the Keta Municipality.

Young learners from Anlo Afiadenyigba E.P. Basic School, Gagodope-Lave Basic School, Adzoatsi M.A Primary School, and Anlo Afiadenyigba R.C. Basic School benefited from product distribution and education.

The Country Director of Pencils of Promise, Freeman Gobah, underscored the devastating effects of the numerous challenges young girls face due to menstruation, including stigma, ignorance, and inadequate access to hygienic materials, among others.

He said his outfit therefore undertook a series of interventions to ease the burden on young female learners in its operational regions.

He outlined capacity building program for 1,200 teachers in best practices in managing menstrual hygiene, providing affordable reusable pads to 6,500 girls pupils to ensure they do not abstain from and training of 3,500 pupils on sewing their own reusable pad with cheap materials, as some of the intervention projects.

He added that his outfit is also undertaking a rigorous water, sanitation and hygiene program to promote good hygiene in schools and ensure girls have a suitable place to attend to their period needs when school.

“In collaboration with schools and community stakeholders, PoP builds safe and gender-sensitive toilets that ensure girls have all the privacy they need when they need to use the bathroom or change their sanitary pads.”

“Last but not least, we provide safe water to schools through the provision of poly tanks,
hand washing stations, soap, cleaning detergents, and dustbins, which ensures the school environment is safe enough for girls when they are menstruating and are more likely to stay in school during their period”, he concluded.

The Head of Partnerships, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility of Fidelity Bank, Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, said 1 out 10 girls miss school in Sub-Saharan Africa due to the above listed challenges.

She identified menstrual hygiene as an issue of public health, education, human dignity and social justice hence aligned with Pencils of Promise and partners to undertake the remarkable intervention project.

She entreated young female pupils not to be ashamed, fall behind or hide due to their periods adding that “you are powerful, worthy, and deserve every opportunity to succeed.”

Madam Ofori-Koree said her outfit would continue to invest in building a country where young girls can manage their period “safely, confidently and with dignity".

“This is aligned with our sustainability goals and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
especially SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 6 (Clean Water and
Sanitation). Through our SR and sustainability strategy, we will continue to invest in programs that advance education, gender inclusion, and community health, because we believe that when we invest in
our girls, we invest in our future”, she said.

The Volta Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe advocated a pragmatic approach towards enhancing menstrual hygiene in Ghana.

She grieved the challenges of period poverty leading to young girls engaging in sexual activities for financial gains, to cater to their menstrual hygiene needs, among others.

She asserted that period poverty has educational, economic, psychological, social, and environmental impacts on females depriving them of the opportunities of life.

She also lamented the high prices of menstrual hygiene materials and acknowledged the government’s initiative to distribute sanitary towels to female learners.

“Currently, the government has allocated GH₵292.4 million in the 2025 national budget to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls in public basic and Senior High schools across Ghana. The President, during the launch of the Free Sanitary Pads Initiative on Thursday, April 24, 2025, emphasized that this initiative is
not a one-time intervention, but rather a commitment by the government to provide sanitary pads to students every month, ensuring that no girl misses school due to her menstrual cycle”, she said.

She, however, emphasized the need to expand sanitation infrastructure across the country, in schools, workplaces, and markets among others, to ensure female have a good environment to attend to their menstrual hygiene need.

Madam Kpe entreated all and sundry to champion the advocacy to end the stigma against menstruation and for laws that would increase access to affordable menstrual hygiene materials.

“We are fighting for more than simply access to sanitary products. In addition, we are fighting for opportunity, equality, and dignity for our women and girls.

“Let us make today the day we take action, not just for ourselves but also for the next generation, who deserve to live in a society where menstruation is accepted as a natural part of life rather than a hindrance”, she said.