Foundation Sets Up Menstrual Waste Disposal System in School

– Distributes feminine hygiene kits to 1,800 girls

Mary Nnah

In commemoration of this year’s World Menstrual Hygiene Day, The Healthy African Girl Foundation, THAG, recently organised an outreach to Government Girls Secondary School Dutse, Abuja, providing menstrual waste disposal system and menstrual hygiene support to 1800 girls.

The waste disposal system consisted of an incinerator, sanitary waste disposal bins and a menstrual health station set up in the school clinic.

Also donated were THAG dignity kits which consisted of feminine hygiene kits containing sanitary pads for the students, IEC materials  (posters on Menstrual Health Education) to the school and copies of “My Book of Period Stories” to the school library.

The outreach which featured a book reading session of “My Book of Period Stories”, a book authored by Dr Chinekwu Oreh, Convener, The Healthy African Girl Foundation, also had an interactive session on sexual and reproductive health, as well as self-leadership with the students.

Speaking at the event, Oreh said: “This intervention was so critical because awareness needs to be raised on not only menstrual hygiene but the psychosocial implications of puberty and menstruation to adolescent girls.”

She further added that period poverty and proper menstrual waste disposal were critical issues affecting the development of young girls and more attention should be paid to this.

Oreh explained that the intervention was one of several other initiatives of THAG.

“Other initiatives of the foundation include the Give the Girl a Voice Advocacy competition which is a peer-led intervention on advocacy for the girl child by the girl child; InspireHer— an online media initiative to inspire girls to be the best versions of themselves; THAG Leadership, Character and Enterprise (LCE) Bootcamp for females; and the Awareness for Adolescent Girl Health (AAGH) initiative.”

Present at the outreach was the representative of the FCT Secondary Education Board.

The Healthy African Girl Foundation is a nonprofit organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission with the vision to empower adolescent girls and young women to take charge of their all-around health to maximise their potential in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5.