Janet Ogundepo In line with the theme of World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024, #PeriodFriendlyWorld, women and girls advocacy groups are calling on governments at all levels and stakeholders to create a period-friendly school and workspaces for menstruating females. They underscored the importance of good menstrual hygiene management and access to sanitary pads. The groups, in separate statements to PUNCH Healthwise on Tuesday, also called for the elimination of the stigma surrounding menstruation.
WMHD is commemorated annually on May 28 to raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management and the need to break the stigma surrounding menstruation. Menstruation, also known as period, is a biological process during which the uterus sheds blood and tissue from the uterine lining and is expelled from the body through the vagina. PUNCH Healthwise recently reported the plight of young girls who, due to economic hardship and poverty, can no longer afford sanitary pads and are resorting to using old pieces of fabric, which further exposes them to infections.
In a statement sent to PUNCH Healthwise, a women and girls empowerment group, The Daurama Foundation, led by Dr Samira Buhari, noted that they celebrated the World Menstrual Hygiene Day by advocating and educating over 500 girls on the importance of menstrual health and hygiene. Buhari said, “Every month, more than two billion people around the world menstruate. It is crucial that girls in Nigeria have acces.
