Parliament renews demand for sanitary pads

Parliament has tasked the government to make good its pledge to give free sanitary pads to school girls if the initiative of transforming society through improving access to education is to be realised.

The lawmakers reasoned that if the aforementioned trend is to change course, there is a need for Government to fund menstrual health hygiene for school girls that cannot afford sanitary products likes pads and tampons.

The renewed demand for free sanitary pads was led by Cecilia Ogwal (Dokolo Woman MP) backed by the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga who instructed the concern ministries to report to Parliament within a week's time on the government's plan to fund menstrual health management.

Citing Kenya where President Uhuru Kenyatta recently signed a law providing for free, sufficient and quality sanitary towels Ogwal said if the government is serious about enhancing human resource through quality education, it must rethink its policy on averting the school dropout rate.

A 2015 study done by Reach A Hand Uganda, a none government organization said that out of the 80 days allocated to a school term, about 30% of adolescent girls said they miss a minimum of four days per menstrual cycle.

This means that millions of schoolgirls may miss about 12 days per term which profoundly affects their academic potential.

Another 2017 report by Build Africa estimated that in some districts, 3 out of 5 girls miss school because they cannot afford sanitary towels while an estimated 800 girls contemplate dropping out of school annually.

To arrest this situation, President Yoweri Museveni while on a campaign trail for re-election in 2016 pledged that the government would provide free sanitary pads to girls in Primary School - a promise that has never been fulfilled.

The government in 2017 backtracked on the pledge to provide sanitary pads to school going girls saying there was no money.

The discussion on sanitary pads came to the fore over the weekend following a statement by the state minister for youth and children, Florence Nakiwala on the commemoration of the international youth day slated for August, 12 in Jinja district at St. Gonzaga Gonza Primary School Kagoma.

Underscoring the fact that the Youth Day provides a platform for stakeholders to evaluate the various policies, programs and strategic interventions aimed at empowering young people, Nakiwala acknowledged that, "transforming education must highlight efforts to make education more inclusive and accessible for all youth."

Aruu County MP Odonga Otto implored the legislator to stop hiding its head in the sand and confront population explosion by openly advocating for family planning if youth challenges such as accessibility to sanitary towels and unemployment are to be addressed.