MTN Ghana foundation partners Inspire Today to World Menstrual Hygiene Day
MTN Ghana foundation has partnered an NGO, Inspire Today, to support young menstruating girls in Amasaman Cluster of schools in the Ga West Municipality of the Grater Accra Region to mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day.
More than 3,000 menstruating girls received sanitary towels, bathing soap, roll-ons, shaving sticks and educational materials. This is an effort to reduce the rising cases of sex for sanitary pads among adolescent girls in Ghana.
Senior manager in charge of corporate communications at MTN Ghana, Georgina Asare Fiagbenu seized the opportunity to encouraged the girls to be intentional about their goals.
‘‘ MTN is a company that believes in making progress, helping companies, communities, country’s and Africa at large to be better. We thrive on brightening lives so today we are here to partner INSPIRE TODAY led by Etornam Sey to encourage the girls to practice good personal hygiene and also stay in school. On the occasion of the World Menstrual Hygeine day, the MTN Ghana foundation is encouraging the girls to know that Menstrual is normal and it should not be an impediment to the goals they set for themselves,’’ She explained.
The Amasaman Cluster of schools will be the 17th cluster to receive support from the Inspire today Foundation.
Founder of INSPIRE TODAY, Etornam Sey, expressed worry about a recent report by plan international Ghana revealing that 83 per cent of Adolescent Girls interviewed in Wa East sleep with men in exchange for sanitary pads.
‘We find the report very humiliating and that is because girls should not be exchanging sex for sanitary pads. We give free condoms to the youth to practice safe sex and these are people who are choosing to have sex. The girls do not choose to menstruate and we should be able to give them free sanitary pads so they can stay in school’.
She has meanwhile called on government to review the 20 per cent tax on disposable sanitary pads to make it affordable for the adolescent girl.
Director of education for Ga West Municipality, Rev. Peter Bilson has expressed gratitude to Inspire Today and MTN Ghana foundation for the consistent support for girls in public schools.
Inspire Today Foundation is a network organization nurturing a nationwide movement of female leaders through a concerted effort at achieving the sustainable development goals three and 5 which is promoting good health and well being and enforcing gender equality.
