The reusable sanitary pads for school girls project to improve their academic performance and reproductive health in Uganda

Category : Reproductive Health | Sub Category : Reusable Sanitary Pads project Posted on 2020-12-07 11:57:26

On any single day during this health emergency, 800 million diverse women and girls are menstruating and grappling with the unique challenges of doing so in a global Covid19 pandemic.

Obviously menstrual periods don’t stop during the COVID19 pandemic and for millions of people in the Uganda Site for Community Services Programme (SCOSP) works school teenage girls in managing menstruation and addressing the taboo and stigma associated with it and is critical to ensuring their human rights, health and dignity. African countries especially Uganda have reached the peak of the pandemic and restrictions on movement begin to ease, the challenge for millions of girls who menstruate continues.

The gender impacts of COVID-19 are being seen all over the world. Meeting the critical menstrual hygiene management needs of women and girls is central to an inclusive global response that promotes equality and social inclusion. SCOSP is tackling current menstruation challenges faced by teenage girls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To address this challenge SCOSP has created immediate supply of reusable sanitary pads for the school/teenage girls. Reusable sanitary pads are a sustainable and easily renewable resource, allowing the girls to wash and reuse them rather than having to buy disposable pads every month. In addition, they are comparatively inexpensive and environmentally friendly since each pad lasts for a period of 12 months.   

The social benefit of the implementation of this pads project for school girls is greatly mitigating the disadvantages and challenges many disempowered girls endure during their process of adolescence, menstruation and maturing.                        

Other benefits of this project implementation are:-

 The conversation about menstruation continues at home between girls and parents and teachers.

 -Girls are able to deal with the menstrual hygiene management harsh issues

-Our pads project has helped to prepare school girls of today to be better future women.

-Again our pads are safe, easy to use and environmentally friendly and SCOSP has been commended by several environmentalists.

-It is a girl’s right to have the essential needs like pads so we have helped the school girls to enjoy their human right. The girls no longer feel that their rights are denied by government, their parents and care givers who are incapacitated due to poverty or lack of prioritization of this important need for girls especially government.  

- The pads project continue during Corona virus outbreak due to the fact that menstruation did not stop during this Covid19 pandemic.  Over 80% of the school girls benefiting from the pads project have now known how to use, wash and safely use again their reusable sanitary pads.

-No cases of urinary tract infection have been registered since the girls in the pads for schools project are no longer using unhygienic rags, grass, unclean news papers which were putting them at a risk of infections.

 A big thank you to our Partners Weitblick Heidelberg and Weitblick Plus who funded this great Menstrual Health Management Project to support the education of the girl child in Uganda while increasing the days of school attendance for over 400 teenage girls in school. This will eventually improve their academic grades and ensure reproductive health for the girls in Uganda.

Post by: 

SCOSP Team