The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has commended the government’s newly launched National Free Sanitary Pads initiative, describing it as a vital intervention to improve menstrual health and remove barriers to girls’ education in Ghana.

The initiative, unveiled on April 24, 2025, by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, is designed to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls, particularly those in rural and underserved areas.

The programme, themed “Improving Menstrual Health and Hygiene for Girls for Quality Education,” aims to tackle the widespread challenge of school absenteeism among young girls during their menstrual cycles.

GNECC has hailed the intervention as progressive and necessary, highlighting how many schoolgirls struggle with limited access to hygiene products, which negatively impacts their academic performance, self-confidence, and overall well-being.

The coalition further noted the disturbing reality in which some girls have been forced into exploitative situations, as reports have emerged of men offering to buy sanitary pads in exchange for sexual favors—an issue that has led to unwanted pregnancies and derailed futures.

Despite its endorsement of the initiative, GNECC is also calling on the government to ensure that the programme remains transparent and effective in the long term.

The coalition has stressed the need for a robust monitoring system to prevent potential mismanagement, hoarding, or unauthorized sales of the sanitary pads, emphasizing that they should be distributed freely to the girls who need them most.

"It is crucial that the pads reach the girls who truly require them, and that the initiative does not become susceptible to mismanagement or abuse," the coalition stated in a press statement.

AM/KA

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