menstrual hygiene

Menstruation is a very important aspect of reproductive health however, many culture see it as a shameful and dirty condition. So many girls and young women today are faced with the difficulty of inadequate access to inexpensive and hygienic sanitary items thereby making menstrual periods uncomfortable an unhygienic. A study conducted by UNICEF showed that 1 in 3 South Asian girls had no prior information about menstruation before they started menstruating.

Mr Femi Aluko, who is the Menstrual Health Management (MHM) Coordinator for UNICEF in Osun State on Monday 11^th September 2017, addressed the need for the eradication of the various misconceptions surrounding menstruation. Mr Aluko made this address during the Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in Ijebu-Ijesha, Osun State. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the MHM Coordinator spoke about the various misconceptions surrounding menstruation and how it has become an embarrassment and also led to lack of self confidence among girls and young women.

The MHM Coordinator said that an increase in Menstrual Hygiene Awareness is needed as it is a Human Right as well as a global issue which requires the attention of every stakeholder. Menstrual Hygiene according to Mr Aluko is not just about managing menstrual periods but most especially addressing societal belief that surrounds the issue of menstruation.

There is a bill that is currently under consideration to be passed into law by the California Senate in the United States. This bill will require that schools provide certain feminine / menstrual hygiene products for students without charging them a penny. According to a report of their Senate Education Committee Analysis, Cristina Garcia argues that menstrual products are medical products for anybody that menstruates. She also argued that some young girls are absent from classes as a result of little or no access to sanitary products. She made reference to a research project that was conducted in New York City where free menstrual products were provided for students in middle and high school and it was reported that there was about 2.4% increase in school attendance during this project. She also addresses the fact that inadequate menstrual hygiene management especially among girls and women from low income families can lead to infections, emotional pressure as well as cervical cancer. 

It is interesting to note that the same situation of Menstrual Hygiene in the United States (which is a developed country) is also applicable to our society in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Majority of our young girls make use of unhygienic products such as cloth, tissue paper, newspaper e.t.c during their menstrual periods and these can lead to urinary tract infection among all other infections. 

I am of the opinion that a system can be put in place where young girls especially those in public schools can have direct and easy access to Menstrual Hygiene products so that no child will be missing classes as a result of her menstrual periods and various levels of infections can be prevented. These and more will bring us closer to achieving a sustainable development goal.