The Campaign for Health Education Sanitation and Hygiene (CAHESH) has called for the popularisation of menstrual hygiene in social life for it to be accepted as a normal topic in society so as to secure girl-child education.

The Project Coordinator of CAHESH, Lucy Nkhoma, made the call at a one-day orientation of key community structures on issues of menstrual health and hygiene aimed at mainstreaming the topic in societal discourse.

Development Diaries learnt that CAHESH was implementing a WASH project in Phalombe and Chikwawa districts, where menstrual health, among other issues, are considered critical.

Nkhoma emphasised that menstrual health was one of the key elements negatively impacting girl’s education.

‘Research has shown that when a girl is menstruating and there are no proper hygienic supplies for her to use, chances are that she [will] miss school for fear of shame’, she said.

‘Additionally, menstrual health is also about a girl knowing how her menstrual circle works so that even if she engages in sexual activity she can still avoid pregnancy and remain in school’.

It was noted that statistics from the District Health Office revealed that over 5,000 girls from Phalombe district became pregnant from January to June this year, with around 3,000 of them being schoolgirls.

Source: Mana Online

Photo source: UNICEF Ethiopia