Zipline Ghana in partnership with Ruby Love and Steel Sky has distributed over 1,000 underwear and reusable sanitary pads to some selected schools within the West Mamprusi municipality.

This forms part of activities marking this year’s menstrual hygiene day celebration.

Over 300 young girls drawn from Mozuu M/A Primary and JHS, Nasia M/A Primary and JHS and Guaku-Dow M/A Primary and JHS benefited from the donation.

According to the leadership of Zipline Vobsi, the distribution of the period underwear and the reusable sanitary pads formed part of Zipline's cooperate social responsibilities.

May 28 is observed annually as the Menstrual Hygiene Day across the globe. The annual commemoration is targeted at helping societies break the silence and taboo, raise awareness and change negative social norms surrounding menstrual hygiene management.

Addressing the gathering at the event in Walewale, the Health Systems Integrated Lead at Zipline Vobsi, Samuel Sineka, said the gesture was his outfit’s way of helping young girls meet some of their needs as they go through their menstrual cycle.

Mr Sineka noted that Zipline will leverage their drone technology to deliver more of these items to schools located in the hard-to-reach areas within their catchment areas that really need them.

A Public Health Nurse at the West Mamprusi Municipal Health Directorate, Joyce Sandow, described the move as very timely. She said most girls in the area had dropped out of school in the municipality because of a lack of access to sanitary pads.

Mrs Sandow said the reusable sanitary pad will help young girls stay in school.

The municipal director of health services, Hussein Abdul - Rashid, expressed gratitude to the zipline company limited for their continued support of the health sector in the municipality.

It was observed that managing menstruation in a hygienic way was indeed a challenging one since it requires adequate sanitation facilities. This negatively affects girls’ health, safety and dignity and as well keeps girls out of school thus preventing equal education opportunities for boys and girls.

Vobsi hosts Zipline’s third distribution center which was commissioned in September 2009. The center has since been of tremendous support in the delivery of blood and other medical commodities to hard-to-reach areas.

During the opening of the Bagre dam that cut off most areas in the North East Region, for example, Zipline was the sole means of access to medicines.

This and their timeline delivery of on-demand medical commodities to over 400 health facilities within the Vobsi operational area alone, has largely improved the health delivery system of these communities.