Tizza: ActionAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has marked the 2025 Menstrual Hygiene Day with a powerful appeal to stakeholders at all levels, urging them to implement strategic interventions to ensure that menstruation does not impede the holistic development of girls. The organisation emphasised the need to incorporate comprehensive menstrual hygiene education into school curricula, enhance adolescent-friendly health services, particularly in rural areas, and prioritise menstrual hygiene in district development plans and budgets.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Aaron Amatus Dangboor, the Upper West Regional Programme Officer of ActionAid Ghana, presented this call to action during the celebration held in Tizza, located in the Jirapa Municipality. The event was organised in partnership with the Young Urban Women Movement (YUWM), under the theme 'Together for a Period Friendly World.'
The commemoration gathered school children, teachers, officials from the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Jirapa and Lambussie Districts, traditional leaders, and other stakeholders. The celebration included a role play on menstrual hygiene, educational sessions on menstrual hygiene, the donation of reusable sanitary pads, and experience-sharing by girls about their first menstruation.
Mr Dangboor highlighted that ActionAid Ghana has been proactive in promoting menstrual hygiene by constructing gender-sensitive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools, distributing reusable sanitary pads, and training young girls in their production. He stressed the importance of stakeholder collaboration to remove menstruation as a barrier to girls' education or the use of unsafe menstrual hygiene materials.
Madam Florence Angsomwine, the Jirapa Municipal Director of Health Services, echoed the need for collective responsibility in supporting girls during their menstrual periods. She emphasized that everyone has a role to play to ensure girls receive the necessary support to continue their education uninterrupted during menstruation. She also encouraged girls to seek support from parents, guardians, and teachers and advised them to maintain proper hygiene practices while cautioning against the use of painkillers for managing menstrual cramps.
Mr Anthony Kwame Ayekey, Assistant Director at the Jirapa Municipal Assembly, assured attendees of the Assembly's ongoing collaboration with ActionAid Ghana to ensure menstruation does not become a barrier to girls' education and personal development.
The Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration is aligned with ActionAid Ghana's Strategic Priority three (SP3) of its Country Strategic Paper (CSP) VII, which aims to foster active citizenship, accountability, and gender-responsive public services. The SP3 focuses on ensuring access to sanitation services, empowering girls and young women to demand quality reproductive health services, and challenging systems that marginalise girls during their menstrual periods, among other goals.
