The Running mate of the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, in a manifesto launch on 7th September, stated that, it will provide free sanitary pads to girls in schools.
The former Minister of Education, made this revelation as part of the manifesto promises stated in the Health Policies segment of the document ahead of the General Elections, which is to take place on 7th December, 2020.
“The next NDC Government will, therefore provide free sanitary pads to girls in schools.”
She further stressed that, thousands of young girls miss as many as 5 days of school every month is simply because, they cannot afford sanitary pads, is an “unacceptable” and “unfair” situation NDC seeks to remedy.
“We will provide free sanitary pads for girls to ensure a perfectly natural, perfectly normal part of their life’s functioning does not become a barrier to education and a better life. We would focus on girls under 20 who are in school.”
It can be recalled that, on 3rd July, 2014, the Minster of Gender Children and Social Protection released a response from Government to the unfavorable reactions by certain members of the public and Parliamentarians’, about the sanitary pad scholarship component of the Secondary Education Improvement Project approved by Parliament.
She intimated that, instead of throwing mud at the policy, it must be seen as a policy meant to benefit girls.
“It must be pointed out quickly that we all love the girls, they are Ghanaians, our sisters. The case therefore must not be seen that people are rather throwing mud at the policy meant to benefit girls. Indeed, the timeless state of Dr. KwegirAggrey that ‘if you educate a girl you educate a nation’ is more relevant today than before. I believe that all the argumentation for and against the free provision of sanitary pads are all being made in good faith with the sole view of helping the government to make the best use of the loan.”
Speaking on the issue, the Minister of Education at the time, Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang made a similar argument citing the same or similar studies insisting that the distribution of sanitary pads was necessary to prevent the young girls from dropping out of school.
Though the policy was not implemented, the National Democratic Congress has featured it into the People’s Manifesto as an important initiative, that will be executed when they are voted into power.
Meanwhile, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has pledged to eliminate import duties on sanitary pads should Ghanaians give them a second tenure.
Dubbed ‘The People’s Manifesto’, the National Democratic Congress held the outdoor of the manifesto at University of Professional Studies, Accra, with NDC dignitaries and party supporters well attended.
