The South Saharan Social Development Organization (SSDO) and WaterAid Nigeria, on Sunday, distributed over 200 packs of sanitary pads to female students in Enugu as part of awareness on Menstrual Hygiene Management.
Making the awareness to all students of Government Secondary School, Enugu; Miss Obianuju Ezeike, Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) Progamme Lead for SSDO, said that the awareness was part of activities marking the 2023 World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Ezeike said that the awareness dealt on how to disperse the menstruation stigma and wrong negative perception about menstruation within the society.
She noted that the awareness was carried out for girls and boys so that all can be aware and the boys, as future fathers, brothers and uncles, can assist the girls when such a girl undergoes her menstrual cycle.
Speaking, Dr Chinyere Ezeudu, a Public Health Specialist, urged the girls not to wear a single sanitary pad and underwear for more than a day.
Ezeudu, with the State Epidemiology Department of Public Health in Enugu State Ministry of Health, said: “In a situation of financial difficulty; one can make do with home-made sanitary pads though cotton material.
“As you make the home-made sanitary pad, which might be up to seven and you use one per day; then wash with soap and water, dry in the sunlight and iron to kill any bacteria left on it.”
Earlier, Mrs Cheta Okafor, a Nurse with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, said that there was nothing wrong with menstruating as “it is part of the normal circle of the reproductive cycle of a female”.
According to Okafor, there is nothing negative or wrong about one menstruating as it shows that the female is reproductively fertile and healthy as well.
She urged girls and boys to ensure good personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness by ensuring proper disposal of waste, especially disposable sanitary pads.
“Boys please support the girls any time they see a girl with an accidental menstrual discharge or stain on her cloth and not mock, jest or stigmatise the girl as what just happened is normal,” she said.
A student, Miss Vivian Enwoh, noted that she had learnt how to make a menstrual sanitary pad from cotton materials and the need to use one sanitary pad per day.
“I have also learnt that there is nothing wrong for one to menstruate as it is a normal reproductive cycle of every healthy woman,” she said.
A male student, Master Chidi Ani, said that after the awareness, he had come to realise that “menstruation is not a taboo” and “our sisters and fellow female classmates needed to be assisted during their menstruation periods.” (NAN)
