State should include sanitary towels in free education package
Many teen girls in the country still struggle to get sanitary towels on a monthly basis.
Many of the teenagers who have been affected are in primary or secondary school. Due to a lack of access, about 850,000 Girls in Kenya miss school 5 days a month during their menses due to lack of sanitary pads.
The situation has persisted for generations. Some girls have been persuaded to trade sex for sanitary towels with men, some of whom are much older.
They either become pregnant or contract sexually transmitted diseases as a result of this, jeopardizing their academic progress.
A university lecturer and Koffi Annan Health Leadership Fellowship winner has proposed that sanitary towels be included in the free education package.
According to Dr Jackline Nyaberi of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, the towels should be provided to all girls in public schools for free and on a regular basis.
“No girl should lack sanitary towels once she is of menstruation age,” Dr Nyaberi, a specialist in public health said.
She wants the government to reconsider the free education program in order to accommodate the towels.
She spoke at Maagonga Primary School, her alma mater in Nyamira County, during a mentorship session. She also gave a four-month supply of sanitary towels to a group of teenage girls.
Dr Nyaberi, a member of the first cohort of the Koffi Annan Health Leadership Fellowship, aspires to be Africa’s female icon for improving the lives of others. Her strategy is to empower communities to live healthier lives.
She has a year to demonstrate to the foundation that she is dedicated to serving humanity.
At the end of the one-year fellowship in Ethiopia next year, Dr. Nyaberi and the other women in the cohort will be paraded on a global platform.
She was chosen for the one-year fellowship after a competitive selection process that drew over 600 applicants.
Twenty fellows were chosen to participate in the initiative, which is a collaboration between the African Union Commission (AUC) and Africa CDC.
The fellowship includes online learning and mentorship, as well as in-person learning sessions at the Africa CDC in Ethiopia and other leading health organizations throughout Africa.
It also aims to create role models for aspirational African public health leaders (fellows) in Africa.
It will assist beneficiaries in acquiring advanced skills and competencies required to strategize, manage, and lead public health programs that will positively transform African public health.
She stated that the mentorship campaign began two months ago with contributions ranging from Sh50 to Sh20,000 from people who had heard her story.
She stated that the program will evolve into a foundation in order to expedite her dream. During the one-year fellowship, she hopes to reach over 3,600 girls.
Dr Nyaberi was accompanied by Nyamira County Government officials, including Dr Grace Nyamongo, County Executive Committee Member in charge of Gender and Social Services, and Rachel Okong’o, a department director.
According to Dr Nyamongo, we must not overlook the boy child as every child requires assistance in order to succeed “
Between 1997 and 2006, Koffi Annan was the Secretary-General of the United Nations and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
He was also the founding chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation, which aims to galvanize political will to address threats to peace, development, and human rights.
