Lara Adejoro A non-governmental organization, AIDS Healthcare Foundation Nigeria, has stressed the need to set up ‘pad banks’ in schools and communities to assist teenage girls in the event of menstrual emergencies. The NGO stated this during the commemoration of the 2024 Menstrual Health Day, at Angwan-Jukun, Wurukum, Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue state. Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management.
The Advocacy and Marketing Manager of AHF Nigeria, Steve Aborisade, in a statement on Tuesday, noted that the call became necessary because the majority of teenage girls face period poverty, a term used to indicate lack of access to menstrual products, which compels young women and girls to seek alternatives that are detrimental to their health and wellbeing. He pointed out that the result is that most of the girls have to use other means to contain their menstrual flow, including the use of rags, cotton wool, and in some cases, tissue paper, which are harmful to their health. Aborisade further stated that the inability of teenagers to access sanitary pads has led to the call on all to end ‘period poverty’.
He appealed to other partners to contribute to the bank, adding that no matter how small their contributions were, it would go a long way to assist the girls. He said, “We came to this community, using certain criteria. We learnt that there is a high prevalence rate of teenage pre.
