Global Communities, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has called for subsidy and removal of taxes on sanitary pads to make it affordable for adolescent girls especially school children.
Mr Martin Sumbo, the Upper West Regional Coordinator of the Global Communities, urged the government to subsidize sanitary pads as well as remove taxes on the pads to make them affordable to school girls.
He said this in Wa at the weekend to commemorate the 2022 World Menstrual Hygiene Day on the theme: “We are Committed”.
The commemoration was organised by the Global Communities, in partnership with the USAID, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, and Be Girl.
Mr Sumbo said the removal of taxes and subsidy would save schoolchildren the tendency of staying out of school during menstruation as the pads would become less costly.
He could not understand why condoms are very affordable in the market even though their usage was a choice while sanitary pads which were compulsory for every girl are rather expensive to procure in the market.
Currently, a condom in the market costs between GH¢3.00 and GH¢5.00 while a sanitary pad ranges from GH¢8.00 to GH¢10.00.
Mr Sumbo explained that the high cost of sanitary pads did not only sometimes keep the girl out of school, but also led to preventable teenage pregnancy as the girl who could not afford it would depend on men for it and in turn pay back with sex.
Madam Janet Kpan, the Upper West Region Girl Child Coordinator at the GES, said stigmatization against girls by both teachers and students discouraged them from going to school during menstruation.
Pognaa Amamata Mumuni, Duori Pognaa, urged the public, especially men from stigmatizing against girls when they are in their menstrual periods as it is a definition of womanhood.
As part of the celebration, school children from the Wa Model, Huriya Islamic, and St. Andrews Basic Schools in Wa, Queenmothers, representatives of women groups, and other stakeholders and partners march through some principal streets of Wa.