By Bakah Derick
The African center For Advocacy (ACA) has reached out to 110 girls in Bamenda as part of activities to mark the 2023 edition of World Menstrual Hygiene Day (WMHD).
Meeting at Baptist Comprehensive High School Nkwen on Friday 26bMay 2023, the representatives of ACA shared with the girls drawn from mostly from form five and upper sixth in both the grammar and commercial sections best ideas to cater for themselves during their periods.
According to representatives of the African Center for Advocacy, the commemorative activity was inspired by the growing need for young women in the crisis hit North West region to be guided and monitored on issues relating to their menstrual hygiene.
Apart from better ideas to cater for themselves during their periods, the ACA delegation also shared best practices on menstrual hygienic methods, proper disposal of used pads especially in situations where they don’t have access to pit toilets.
Amongst the ACA delegation was Ngefor Angele, a health professional who explained menstrual abnormalities, the menstrual cycle and also demonstrated how to properly place pads on their underwear.
After an intensely interactive question and answer session, the girls were clarified on menstruation related issues including alternatives for pads.
The not-for-profit charity then went on to distributed packs of sanitary pads to the girls; gifts they received with visible satisfaction.
To ensure that the message of the day went on to stay with the girls, ACA distributed stickers with the theme being ‘making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030.
WMHD highlights the importance of menstrual care, raising awareness about the issues faced by those without access to sanitary products.
Menstrual hygiene management or menstrual health and hygiene has remained a priority to ACA generating a desire to constantly improve on access to menstrual hygiene products to absorb and collect the flow of blood during menstruation for young women, privacy to change the materials and access to facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials.