Obuasi (Ash), May 27, GNA – Anglogold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine plans to distribute over 10,000 sanitary pads to school girls in Obuasi.
This, according to the Social Development and Gender Superintendent of the Mine, Mrs. Mavis Nana Yaa Kyei is part of their plans to bridge the inequality gap and end menstrual poverty.
Speaking at a program held in Obuasi to commemorate this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day, Mrs. Kyei said AngloGold Ashanti was partnering the German Development Cooperation Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to undertake the programme which is targeting girls from over 20 schools in Obuasi by the end of the year.
Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day marked on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) at a global level.
The theme for this year’s celebration is, “Making Menstruation a Normal Fact of Life by 2030.”
Anglogold Ashanti through its partner institutions like GIZ and AGA Health Foundation organised a segregated health education for both boys and girls as well as video show on menstruation for six schools in both the Obuasi Municipal and the Obuasi East District.
Mrs. Kyei said intensifying awareness would help demystify the issue of menstruation and clear all misconceptions about it.
“We at AngloGold Ashanti are deliberate in our efforts to create awareness on menstruation targeted at curing all the misconceptions, taboos about it and drum home the fact that menstruation is a normal development in the female anatomy,” she assured.
Currently, sanitary pads cost between GHC 15 to GHC 18 per pack on the market, making it difficult for the average Ghanaian girl to have access to it during their menstruation period.
As part of efforts to make them accessible to girls, AngloGold Ashanti is keen on supplying school girls with sanitary towels on a pilot basis.
The exercise would start in June with a focus on girls taking part in the 2023 BECE.
“Fortunately, last year we did not record any female absentee in the BECE. Today, we have distributed more than 1000 sanitary pads, and we are focused on ensuring that no girl stays at home as a result of menstruation,” Mrs Kyei noted.
Madam Belinda Coleman, a midwife at the AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation, underlined the importance of extending education on menstrual hygiene to boys.
She opined that girls needed support during the period of menstruation hence educating boys would forestall all forms of stigmatisation targeted at girls during that period.
« Today, we decided to bring the boys along to educate them to understand the issues of menstruation. This is intended to correct all forms of misconceptions about the subject and seek support for girls during their periods,” she stated.
GNA
