After receiving training from UNICEF Nigeria, female students in the state of Adamawa may now manufacture reusable sanitary pads and profit from them.
The development has led to praise from important stakeholders in the state’s educational sector for UNICEF’s ongoing assistance and initiatives that have raised children’s living standards over time.
The praise was expressed by teachers and students at various schools in the state’s Jada and Guyuk local government areas during a recent field visit by a group of UNICEF officials and journalists from the Bauchi Field Office.
The purpose of the visit was to assess how the instruction had helped to reduce instances of stigmatization, school absences, poor menstrual hygiene, and other detrimental behaviors.
The Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation’s Accelerated Sanitation and Water for All Programme II (DGIS-ASWA II), in collaboration with UNICEF, provided funding for the stakeholders’ training.
Teachers and students of both genders were instructed on the importance of following best practices, particularly with regard to female students’ menstrual hygiene both at school and at home in the state.
One of the training’s consequences was that people’s perspectives of how women in society view their menstrual habits have altered because the topic is now openly discussed rather than kept private.
However, thanks to UNICEF’s participation, all parties are now on the same page and conversing freely about the problem, according to one of the trainees.
According to the stakeholders, the result has created a win-win situation for the expansion of education in the region.
“Now, young girls are making money as a result of training from the new entrepreneurial opportunity owning to their abilities to manufacture reusable menstrual pads locally that are cheaper and can be reused for up to six months,” a fellow learner claimed.
Stakeholders described to the visiting team of Reporters how the intervention had radically altered their worldviews regarding menstruation during a one-day field visit to Tsohon Tikke Primary School, one of the schools that benefited from the training by UNICEF.
Musa Umar, the head teacher of the school, remarked that the efforts of the partners, particularly UNICEF, cannot be overemphasized and explained that thanks to the training, issues related to menstruation that were previously taboo have now been brought out into the open.
He claims that discussing such topics was previously regarded as morally bankrupt in a conservative society like ours. In fact, when the topic was initially brought up to me, I withdrew in fear and excitement because I couldn’t imagine myself—a Fulani man—discussing such a topic with my kids.
Musa Umar continued, “But as it is now, the training has led to a seamless relationship between the parents, teachers, and students, and whenever any friction arises as a result of misconception, we usually address that amicably in a family way.”
He observed that due to widespread awareness and the mutual trust that students, teachers, and parents have developed on the subject, the majority of menstrual health difficulties, particularly those affecting new students, have been curbed.
The school’s head teacher thanked UNICEF for providing a borehole and new restrooms for both boys and girls, saying that these additions had improved the learning environment there.
Obadia David, the WASH Coordinator for the Jada local government, thanked UNICEF and noted that 20 schools in the area and 60 children between the ages of 13 and 17 had been affected. He also invited other well-meaning people and organizations to support the kind deed.
Aisha Sulaiman stated that, in her opinion as a benefit and student, the knowledge that was impressed on them will go a long way in changing the narrative without fear of consequences.
Aisha Sulaiman added that producing the local pads has addressed the difficulties of missing class due to menstrual flow as well as the financial strain of needing to purchase the manufactured pads, which are quite expensive.
