North Tongu MP partners NGO Inspire Today to mark International Women’s Day
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has partnered an NGO, INSPIRE TODAY, to support girls in deprived schools in his constituency.
Inspire Today Foundation is a network organization nurturing a nationwide movement of female leaders through a concerted effort at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5.
As part of the NGO’s project for the year, more than 4,000 menstruating girls in the Volta region were supported with the necessary resources to stay in school.
This is part of several efforts to tackle period poverty and the North Tongu district received its fair share of the support from Inspire Today.
Beneficiary schools were given sanitary towels, bathing soap, roll-ons, shaving sticks and educational materials.
Member of parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa expressed gratitude to the NGO and stressed the need to protect the girl child.
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‘We are determined to protect the girl child so she can achieve her full potentials. As a result, we are reworking the local laws governing the constituency so young men who defile innocent and vulnerable girls will receive stiffer punishment. We are also constantly working with the district education office to give the girls the necessary resources to enable them stay in school. We want to continue this partnership with Inspire Today because it is the surest way to empower our girls and keep them in school. I want to use the opportunity to wish all women and girls a Happy international Women’s Day,” he said.
Founder and CEO of Inspire Today, Etornam Sey, stressed on the need for government to review the 20 per cent tax on sanitary towels so that the rural girl can afford it. She stressed the need to urgently address the issue of period poverty as this deprives most girls access to quality education.
‘The estimated cost of one pad in Ghana averages to about GHS 5. Organizations that support healthy menstruation management, like Inspire Today, believe the Ghanaian government should remove the tax on these materials’. Many Ghanaian advocacy groups have proposed grassroots manufacturing initiatives for menstruation materials as an economically and environmentally sustainable solution. We believe that manufacturing menstruation materials on the ground would reduce costs and increase accessibility for these vital products,” She explained.
The project was sponsored by the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Wilmar Africa, Step publishers, Firstklass Shipping services, Fine print and benevolent individuals.
International Women’s Day marked on 8th March is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
