The wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo has launched healthy living Sanitary Pad Banks under Healthy Living With Nonye Soludo Initiative in over four hundred secondary schools in Anambra State. Speaking during the launch when she hosted female secondary school students from schools in the state, Mrs Soludo emphasized that every girl has the fundamental right to live and succeed.
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According to the Governor’s wife, “Once we deny them these rights, we have taken a backward step that will ultimately have damaging effects on our society. One of the significant goals of our Crusade in Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo is to explore smart avenues and rekindle the consciousness of self-belief and knowledge of individual potentials of our girls. We are also teaching them the rules of hygiene, nutrition and self development. Nutrition and personal hygiene are, of course, two of the five pillars of our Crusade. We see them as an important process for child development. In the area of hygiene, we are also looking at menstrual hygiene and the overall health education of women and girls, especially those in the low income class. Recognizing these fundamental facts, I’m glad to announce today that Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo has taken a step further to promote menstrual hygiene in secondary schools where Healthy Living Clubs are domiciled.
“We have concluded arrangements to provide Sanitary Pad Banks (Pad Banks) in over four hundred secondary schools across Anambra State where our clubs are currently operating. Accessibility to primary hygiene needs like sanitary pads remains a major concern in rural homes. It gets even worse when menstrual emergencies break out in schools. Therefore, we want to intervene where it matters the most. Today, we will be distributing over one thousand sanitary pads to our schools to kick off the campaign. Subsequent distributions will be done at the beginning of each academic term, with enough supplies to last throughout a particular academic calendar.
Speaking further, Mrs Soludo said,
“By opening the shelves and lockers where these sanitary pads would be kept, we wish to restore girl child confidence and beat down stigmas arising from menstrual emergencies. We also want to create a perfect environment for every girl child to grow happily in without having to be scared of what will happen next. Our Pad Banks will give equal opportunities to girls from every social class, and build a hygiene bond that will last beyond the school walls. It is, however, worthy to note that every girl child – in her menstrual age – attending a school where these Pad Banks are accessible, can equally access them. Our commitment is universal, and we want to keep it so.
“The statistics of girls and women in their reproductive age brackets with access to basic menstrual requirements are begging for better attention. This is our own way of paying attention. We want to ensure that every school girl can reach her dreams without being afraid of her environment and the people who make it unhealthy to grow in. Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo is committed to promoting and protecting the fundamental objectives of right health. I prefer to say that “Health is the Greatest Wealth” to give a clearer illustration of what a system that lacks good health looks like.
“We are about goals, results and compassion. At the end of the day, we want to achieve a society that opens up a platform of equal aspirations for every gender. We will achieve this with all of you as important stakeholders in this passionate campaign.” she added.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Dr Tonia Mbagwu who spoke on Girl Child Right and Sexuality, encouraged girls to always hold themselves in high esteem and never give room for intimidation. She added that training a girl means training a nation, affirming that girl child is a first class citizen, not a second class citizen.
On her part, Miss Adaora Soludo urged the students to always communicate well with their parents and elderly ones to enable them understand how to positively tackle life issues and tow the right path in life.
Other Speakers at the event were Miss Chinwe Okoli who spoke on Innovative Career and Digital Skills, Career and Professor Nkechi Ikediugwu , chairman Anambra State Post Primary Schools Service Commission (PPSSC),who urged the girls to put all they learnt into their daily lives and represent the state and nation, positively.
Presentation of packs of sanitary pads to all the female students in attendance and their teachers by Mrs Soludo, climaxed the event which was held at the Governor’s Lodge, Awawbia, Awka the state capital.
