Girls abandon school for lack of pads, resort to used cloth

Teenage girls in some schools in the Pru East District of the Brong Ahafo Region, have resorted to using ragged unused clothes as sanitary towels in the absence of pads.

But the leakage from the material compel the teenage girls to abandon the classroom until their menstrual periods are over in order to avoid discomfort and embarrassment.

A Medical Doctor, Dr. Dennis Bortey told TV3's Odelia Ofori that the prolonged use of the old ragged unused clothes could result in infertility.

As Parliament approved a 156 million dollar loan facility between Ghana and the International Development Association to finance the Ghana Secondary School Education on July 2, news hit the airwaves that a component was to be given to the Ministry of Gender for the purchase of sanitary pads for girls in rural communities.

A debate on whether the girls actually stayed at home because they cannot afford sanitary pads and how the pads would be distributed and the project sustained ensued.

But in the Pru East District, TV3 visited some schools for first hand information on the situation of sanitary pads and its management among teenagers in the area.

Odelia's first test case was an interview with a 15 year old girl in class 5.

She told Odelia that the old ragged unused clothes are her only source of comfort during her menstrual period.

The material she explained is washed and re-used daily and monthly.

"My mum gives me the used material as sanitary towels and she gets this from her dresses she doesn't use".

The news crew joined her as she displayed how she preserved the old clothes for her monthly use.

Her mother told the news team there are days she stays at home when her flow is heavy to avoid discomfort and embarrassment.

"I am worried about the method because sometimes she doesn't even get some of the used material so it will become and embarrassment for both of us when she soils herself at school".

Just when the team was leaving her house, they came across a friend of hers' who is also 15 years and uses same method for her menstrual cycle.

The 15 year old said "Sometimes I soil myself and I really feel shy".

The team freely offered the girls ten cedis to buy pads that can take them for the next month. But what happens next when the entire pack is used up?

And sadly, the girls cannot access pads in the village unless they travel to the closest town.

A Medical Practitioner, Dr. Bortey indicated such practices could expose the girls to infections that could have future repercussions on them.

"It may end up giving you what we call maybe vaginitis or vaginal infections. And depending on the organism you have, it could also lead to what we call pelvic inflammatory diseases".