Create an enabling environment for teaching menstrual hygiene, Oyo First Lady urges teachers

The wife of the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Tamunominini Makinde called on teachers across the state to create an enabling environment for menstrual hygiene education and protect girls from people who may not understand the challenges they face during their menstrual cycle.

She added that the lack of menstrual hygiene is a challenge for the well-being of girls in society.

Ms. Makinde made the remarks during one of her shows, 'A Day with the Girls of Oyo State', held at the House of Chiefs in Ibadan on Wednesday.

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She said it is unfortunate that menstrual hygiene remains a significant challenge for many girls in Nigeria, pointing out that girls lack access to good sanitary pads, clean public toilets and menstrual hygiene management, among others.

The programme, themed "Your Menstrual Hygiene Matters", brought together girls from 100 schools in 33 local government areas in Oyo State.

"These challenges not only affect girls' health, but also their emotional and psychological well-being. Menstrual hygiene is either treated as silent or shrouded in silence and embarrassment.

But it's time to break the silence, address the embarrassment, and teach our daughters how to take care of themselves properly.

"Today's lesson is about how girls can take care of themselves during their period, which is essential for their overall well-being. There's no shame in learning more about your menstrual cycle, the changes in your body, and how to track your period.

This knowledge helps you plan your period. It also allows you to make informed decisions about how to take care of yourself during your menstrual cycles, such as when to get the necessary supplies.

“Parents and guardians, I want you to join us in breaking the silence and stigma around menstruation by encouraging your daughters to talk to you or any other trusted family member about their menstrual cycle,” Ms. Makinde said.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women's Affairs, Ms. Monisola Udoh, said that millions of women and girls around the world experience period poverty, which is characterized by limited access to menstrual products, menstrual education, poor water sanitation and hygiene facilities, in addition to cultural norms, stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation, which create more barriers to achieving good health practices. menstrual.

According to her, "While people's experiences of periodic poverty are varied and unique, the social determinants of health and the structural determinants of gender inequality act as key drivers of periodic poverty around the world, including in Nigeria.

"Research has found that globally, girls are forced to miss school due to a lack of sanitary items. In Nigeria, an estimated 52 million women and girls menstruate, almost 70% of them without access to sanitary pads; 1 in 10 girls misses school for approximately 48 days a year due to lack of information and access to safe sanitary products and clean water as well as cultural and religious reasons; the shame, stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation which contribute to serious human rights issues for women and girls, making them vulnerable to gender discrimination, child marriage, exclusion, violence, poverty and unaddressed health issues.

“This monthly trend of missing out on education has devastating long-term effects, not only in terms of educational development, but also on the psyches of young girls and women. Assessment of menstrual hygiene management in Nigeria shows a lack of adequate facilities and counseling in schools and communities,” she said.

According to her, it is in realization of these facts that the Federal Department of Women's Affairs distributed 39,000 reusable sanitary napkins to 13 states; Adamawa, Borno, Kwara, Plateau, Jigawa, Zamfara, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo, Enugu, Ogun, Ekiti and Oyo.

In his welcoming remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. A. O. Adeyanju, said that millions of women and girls around the world are stigmatized, excluded and discriminated against simply because they have their period, adding that while Menstrual Hygiene Day is May 28, it should be repeated throughout the year to break taboos and end the stigma surrounding menstruation.

According to him, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for menstrual health to be recognized, framed and treated as a health and human rights issue and not as a hygiene issue.

He expressed the belief that Ms. Makinde's commitment and intervention will encourage health policy makers and the program manager...