CEDI Joins Stakeholders’ to Commemorate Menstrual Hygiene Day 2019
ABUJA – On Tuesday, May 28, 2019, Community Excellence and Development Initiative (CEDI), a non-governmental organization committed to empowering lives and building sustainable communities joined other WASH advocates to commemorate Menstrual Hygiene Day with the theme “It’s Time for Action”. Menstrual Hygiene Day is usually celebrated on May 28 every yearto raise awareness and combat taboos associated with menstrual hygiene with the goal of enabling women and girls to achieve their full potential.
Menstruation is a monthly reality to more than half of women and girls who are currently of reproductive age globally. At least 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate facilities and products for menstrual hygiene management (MHM) either due to limited availability or excessive cost. In Nigeria alone, 25% of women lack adequate privacy for defecation or menstrual hygiene management. Also, Myths and stigmas surrounding menstruation cause some women and girls to miss school or work or go into isolation. Women and men of all ages must be made aware of the importance of menstrual hygiene through an open dialogue and education at home and in school to foster engagement with this often unspoken issue.
As part of our WASH advocacy, we celebrated Menstrual Hygiene Day by conducting an awareness session for teachers and students of Junior Secondary School, Kuchigoro, Abuja. The Vice Principal, Admin., Junior Secondary School, Kuchigoro, Mrs. Nwagugu Pauline Ngozi in her remark appreciated CEDI for recognizing the need to sensitize her school on Menstrual Hygiene Management. She urged all teachers and students to imbibe the tips they will be taught and practice good Menstrual hygiene.
CEDI’s Public Health Expert, Ms Betty Essien in her lecture gave an overview of womens’ reproductive cycle with emphasis on menstruation. She introduced the participants to various options to manage their menstruation; how they can safely dispose off their sanitary pads, tips for good menstrual hygiene management among others.
We distributed brochures to all participants and about 500 sanitary pads were given out to students so they can practice and teach their families and friends what they have learnt and keep asimilating what they have been taught. This we believe will help change attitudes and establish a culture of good menstrual hygiene for generations to come. In addition, we distributed over 50 Menstrual Hygiene bracelets to inspire others to take action.
Bar. Gatta Tokunbo, Director, Gender and Social Development at CEDI, in her closing remark appreciated all participants and encouraged them to keep practicing good menstrual hygiene. She re-emphasized that CEDI will continue to support and partner with other WASH advocates to promote menstrual hygiene management.
This year’s theme: “It’s Time for Action” not only emphasizes the urgency of this public health issue, but also highlights the transformative power of improved menstrual hygiene to empower the world’s women and girls and unlock their economic and educational opportunities.
Today, we call on other non-profits, government agencies, the private sector, the media, and individuals to join us in advocating for and promoting the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in Nigeria. Let us jointly step up and take action to end the stigma around menstruation and ensure access to menstrual hygiene products. The time to ACT is NOW. Let us take ACTION NOW!!!!!
About CEDI
CEDI is a non-governmental organization borne out of the need to empower lives and build sustainable communities. CEDI promotes sustainable development projects in health, education, agriculture, clean energy and the environment in vulnerable Nigerian communities.