By Samuel Dodoo, GNA
Accra, Dec. 17, GNA – Sixty members of a Menstrual Health Management (MHM) advocacy group have undergone a two-day training on how to use local fabrics to sew sanitary pads.
The training was under the auspices of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) to promote fabric-made-pads and hygiene among adolescent girls.
Participants included coordinators from the School Health Education Programme, Community Development Officers, Environmental Health Officers, and teachers from the Dzorwulu Special School and Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf.
The ambassadors would, in turn, train young girls to sew their own pads while helping to spread the knowledge and skills acquired among adolescent peers in the communities.
Mrs Charlotte Adjei-Marfo, a Director at the MSWR, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said participants underwent internship to acquire practical sewing knowledge and effective communication skills to spread the message to girls with autism, hearing and sight impairment.
She urged the trainees to be focused and seize the opportunity to establish their own businesses into sewing local sanitary pads for young girls in their communities.
Mrs Adjei-Marfo said the Ministry was facilitating the creation of an enabling environment for schools in the communities to embrace the noble idea and create jobs for themselves after school.
Dr Emefa Akoto-Ampaw, a Gynaecologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, took participants through the functions of the reproductive organs of women.
Other topics discussed included effects of menstruation on adolescent girls, which when not well managed, could lead to embarrassment in public and absenteeism in school.
Also discussed were social and cultural barriers to menstrual hygiene management such as beliefs, taboos and myths, as well as best practices.
Miss Alimatu Adams, a Tutor at the Midwifery School at Pantang Hospital, asked the participants to reach out to stakeholders in other sectors to mainstream menstrual hygiene into their activities.
“Mensuration is a monthly reality yet in many countries, people still face serious challenges when it comes to managing their periods,” Miss Adams said, and urged the trainees to teach the girls how to change the pads safely and hygienically.
GNA
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