Accra: President John Dramani Mahama assured Ghanaians that Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang is in good health. He noted that he spoke on Wednesday to Vice President Prof Opoku-Agyemang, who was recuperating in the United Kingdom, and she was doing very well and would soon return home.
According to Ghana News Agency, President Mahama stated in his remarks at the launch of the Free Sanitary Pad Programme in Accra, “I wish to extend the greetings of Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to all of you. I spoke to her yesterday and I told her we were going to miss her at this event because this is a programme that is very dear to her.” He continued, “She said I should say hello to all of you and to say she is recuperating and catching a bit of rest. She is very well and soon she will join us to continue to prosecute the reset agenda.”
The national launch of the Free Sanitary Pad Programme was in fulfilment of the President’s campaign promise and as part of the Government’s broader commitment to gender equity in education. It marks a significant step toward promoting menstrual health and hygiene, as well as improving educational outcomes for adolescent girls across the country.
President Mahama lauded Vice President Prof Opoku-Agyemang, who was the Education Minister during his previous administration, for championing a pilot project to get the Free Sanitary Pad Distribution Initiative implemented. He noted that despite their efforts during his previous administration to implement the Free Sanitary Pad Distribution Programme, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) strongly opposed it and made mockery of it at that time, hence it was cancelled.
“And so that pilot was undertaken, but I remember when we tried to pass it through Parliament, for the first time, it sounded very strange,” the President recalled. “And for those who were in Parliament at the time, they will remember, our opposition bench called it the pad loan, if you remember,” he stated. “And a lot of mockery was made that a government will go to take a loan to supply sanitary pads for girls; because at the time, this challenge was not very well understood, even by members of Parliament.”
Today, President Mahama expressed satisfaction that there is broader acceptance of the initiative, acknowledging it as the right thing to do. He emphasized the importance of supporting women and girls through their menstrual cycles with dignity and hygiene.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, stated that the launch aims to see a terminal end to the unbearable emotional trauma and indignity that young girls experience. This initiative ensures that no girl child in Ghana will abstain from school due to their monthly period.
Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, highlighted that the initiative is part of a broader strategy to promote menstrual health, improve school attendance, and ultimately enhance the academic performance of school girls. The function was chaired by Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse.
