SEND Ghana, a subsidiary of SEND WEST Africa, has called on the Ministries of Education and Sanitation and Water Resource to improve Water, Sanitation And Hygiene (WASH) facilities, especially in basic and secondary schools. It said most schools, especially at the basic level, had inadequate sanitation facilities to promote good hygiene and sanitation practices, including menstrual hygiene management (MHM). The School Health Education Programme (GESS-SHEP) of the Ghana Education Service recognises the provision of a friendly, physical, psychosocial, and conducive learning environment to enhance school retention and academic competence while preventing ill-related absenteeism. However, schools do not have separate washrooms and toilet facilities for boys and girls, as well as male and female teachers. The call was made at the launch of a report on 'Period Poverty' on some selected regions in Ghana. It was on the theme: 'Breaking Menstrual Silence: Unveiling the Hidden Struggles Among Adolescent Girls in Gh ana.' The report indicated that adolescents' knowledge on menstruation and menstrual related issues was limited, with many acceding to the misconceptions and cultural taboos around menstruation. It said 60.3 per cent of young girls found it difficult to buy sanitary pads because it was expensive and not accessible. The report showed that 63 percent of most schools did not have adequate WASH facilities and friendly environments to enable girls menstruate freely. Miss Ihlass Issah, Lead Youth Advocate, SEND Ghana, speaking on the report, said there must be changing rooms with adequate water for hand washing with soap and proper bins for collecting and disposing of menstrual waste. She said these mechanisms would allow girls to have safe and dignified period free from stigma, thus increasing their school attendance, promoting effective learning, and reducing the risk of infectious diseases and early drop-outs. She called on the Ministry of Education to implement comprehensive menstrual health education pro grammes , increase public awareness and sensitisation drive. 'This education would help in breaking the myths and reducing discrimination and stigma surrounding menstruation in schools and the wider community,' she said. Miss Issah said such education would be crucial in fostering open conversation about menstruation, promote empathy and create mutually supportive environment, to allow girls to navigate their menstrual cycles with dignity. She recommended specific community programmes, involving the participation of parents, opinion leaders, boys and girls, and other relevant stakeholders to deepen understanding and engender equitable development. She said the government through the Ministry of Finance must scrap taxes on sanitary pads and reclassify them as 'essential medical necessities', which should have zero tax rating. This action would be the first important step in ensuring that prices on menstrual products are lowered making them affordable to girls and women from low-income households. 'Other support systems could include targeting deprived schools and distributing pads to deserving students monthly.' Miss Issah said such initiatives could be included in existing education-related interventions packages, such as the capitation grant, the school feeding and the free SHS programmes. She said these would reduce the vulnerabilities associated with challenges of access to sanitary pads and would enhance the prospects of girls to attain higher education and guarantee their socio-economic wellbeing in the future. Source: Ghana News Agency