The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to improving menstrual hygiene and adolescent health through education, policy reforms, and local production of sanitary products.
Dr. Godwin Ntadom, Director of Public Health at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, emphasized the importance of guiding girls through puberty, noting many are unprepared and lack access to hygiene education and products.
“From as early as age nine, a girl begins to menstruate. Without proper guidance, she’s vulnerable to infections and emotional distress,” he said.
Ntadom spoke in Abuja during the official screening of the documentary ‘Flow With Pride’ and an accompanying art exhibition organized by the Journalism, Communication, and Media Center in collaboration with the Thought Pyramid Art Centre and other partners.
The event brought together stakeholders who underscored the importance of using creative awareness campaigns to educate the girl child on personal hygiene, especially in hard-to-reach and underserved communities.
Ntadom highlighted the government’s focus on awareness campaigns and creative tools like art to engage adolescents, saying, “When you use art to capture their attention, you also create an opportunity to pass powerful health messages.”
Ntadom said the Ministry has developed policies covering adolescent and menstrual health and is open to partnerships with youth-focused organizations.
He also stressed the importance of affordable access to sanitary products, with the government encouraging local production to reduce costs.
Urging media and digital platforms to amplify health messages, he said, “Prevention starts with knowledge. Educating girls is cost-effective and powerful.
“We’re not just regulating from the top, we’re ensuring these interventions reach those who need them most.”
Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, the Mandate Secretary for Health Services and Environment in the Federal Capital Territory, praised the campaign’s use of visual content to drive health messages.
She said: “It’s a very good one, because what you see sticks better. Using movies and shows to deliver health and preventive education, especially to young girls in rural areas is very apt.
“The literacy level among many of them is still sub-optimal, so visual content communicates more clearly. It helps them comprehend better and also empowers them to act.”
Represented by Dr. Olubunmi Adeyemi, a consultant public health physician at the Public Health Department, the Mandate Secretary described the approach as quite innovative and laudable, emphasizing that it could be scaled to other hard-to-reach areas.
“These activities are ongoing. Through the FCT Primary Health Care Board, there’s a dedicated gender department involved in menstrual hygiene initiatives.
“NGOs are also involved. They go to schools and rural communities, running campaigns and marking significant dates like World Menstrual Hygiene Day in May,” she noted.
She confirmed that efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international partners have helped reduce the incidence of infections among girls, stressing, “If they weren’t having an impact, we would be seeing more girls presenting with pelvic diseases and infections at our facilities.”
She also emphasized the need for education on improvising with safe alternatives when conventional sanitary products are unavailable.
“Hygiene goes hand in hand with menstrual health. It’s not just about the products; it’s about an overall clean environment to prevent disease,” the Mandate Secretary added.
One of the panellists, a Menstrual health advocate, Tracy Yekaghe, who is also the CEO of Menstrualdemy, an education technology company focused on promoting menstrual equity, called on the Federal government to enact a Social Enterprise Act to support mission-driven businesses addressing menstrual poverty.
“Menstrual equity means fair access, but we still have over 37 million women and girls in period poverty,” she said.
She explained that her organization trains women and youth to produce sustainable menstrual products, promoting long-term solutions over one-time donations.
“Padding a girl for one month is not enough. We must empower local producers and educate users.”
Yekaghe argued that most menstrual health enterprises are driven by impact rather than profit, and need a legal framework to thrive, saying, “A Social Enterprise Act would help provide a legal structure, tax benefits, and protection for businesses reinvesting in social good.”
She urged the National Assembly to back the proposal, referencing the 2022 Startup Act as a precedent.
Obinna Chukwueze, founder of the Journalism Communication and Media Centre, described his organization’s media-driven approach to health education.
“I’m particularly concerned about rural girls because they are the ones who need more awareness on menstrual hygiene,” he said.
Describing menstrual poverty as a situation where women and girls cannot afford menstrual products and use unhygienic alternatives, which can lead to diseases or infertility, he said, “We can prevent all of this with simple education on how to keep yourself clean and safe during your period even when you can’t afford conventional menstrual products.
“Media messaging works. It sticks because it targets the mind.”
He said the current film screening was targeted at policymakers and stakeholders, noting, “We have federal government representatives, FCT officials, and development partners here.
“We’re still going to take these screenings into rural communities to create the necessary awareness about menstrual poverty because that’s our focus”
He revealed plans to translate the campaign into local languages and screen it nationwide, “We started in Abuja, but we’re going around all 36 states.
“This screening is for high-level stakeholders. We’ll organize separate ones for students and parents tailored to their needs,” he explained.
