The Civil Society platform Ghana on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has called on the government to subsidise the price of sanitary pads in the country in the 2023 budget which is going to be read on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday 15th November 2023 to make them accessible to young girls.
This is because some girls resort to the use of unsanitary materials, including rags not well kept for menstrual flow, which affect the health of girls.
Levlyn Kobadu Asiedu National Coordinator Ghana CSO’s Platform on SDGs made this call at a press conference in Accra. She said the move would help save the girl child from the tendency of staying out of school during mensuration.
To her, when girls and women have access to safe and affordable sandwiching materials and facilities to manage their menstruation they decrease their risk of infection.
Adding that the impact of taxes is the high cost of a pack of menstrual pads, which is between GHC 20 to 40 is higher than the current minimum wage of 14.88.
Angel Cudjoe, Youth Advocate Ghana, emphasized that menstruation is a natural phenomenon and an imposition of taxes on sanitary pads, which are the basic necessities of life reinforces the gender and social norms which they strive to minimize the lack of accessibility and affordability is throwing girls.
She said there is a need for the government to intensify education on menstrual hygiene management in all communities across the country.
To her, the cascading effects of the girls’ lives are influencing their ability to participate in the formal economy to improve their livelihood.
She pleaded with the government to increase budget allocation to all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to enable them to provide separate wash facilities for boys and girls.
Source: Oyerepafmonline.com /Bernard K Dadzie
