Better provision of sanitary products ‘will help keep girls in school’ Girls’ education and academic achievement at the secondary level are now known to play a key role in the economic, peaceful and healthy development of nations. However, many factors still exist that limit the attendance of girls in secondary school in developing nations. One of the primary factors for this could well be the lack of sanitary products. A growing body of research, including that from Said Business School, University of Oxford, indicates that provision of sanitary products may offer a fast, more direct and less expensive means to tackling this problem and increasing attendance in schools. In 2010, an Oxford team reported improved attendance among girls who were given free disposable sanitary pads. This research has now been continued in Uganda. It was found that most of the girls don’t have access to sanitary pads and so use makeshift homemade cloth pads which are ineffective. Embarrassment due to ‘accidents’ and lack of privacy for disposal or washing such pads in schools led the girls to remain absent for the length of their cycle and miss out on schoolwork. The research tested four different types of sanitary products and found that disposable pads or improved cloth pads were preferred and also led to an increase in the attendance of girls in school. It increased their confidence and gave them a sense of empowerment. Professor Linda Scott, who led the research, said: “In order to keep girls in school, and allow them and wider society to reap the economic, social and personal benefits of that, we need to address the practicalities of their lives and the everyday obstacles they face at a grass roots level. We need to identify suitable sanitary products and technologies which are both acceptable to the girls themselves, and to their communities.” This news is especially good for us as application of the results of this study will encourage the success of our Grow a Girl scheme by encouraging higher attendance of girls in school. This will also help our Peer Educators in effectively delivering the Act4Africa programme by letting them attend their weekly Life Club meetings without any worries. More details on the study can be found here and on the Grow a Girl scheme here .
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 07:49:00 +0000
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