60% Of Girls in Uganda Use Sanitary Towels They Don’t Like but Use Them Because They Have No Choice – Research Reveals

 

The government has been urged to examine the standard of the sanitary pads donated by donors to enrolled students in host communities and refugee camps across the country.

This is in response to a study by the nongovernmental organization Windle International Uganda, which was commissioned by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and found that some students were using subpar sanitary products given by some organizations.

While speaking at the release of the findings, the Research and Innovations Officer at Windle International Ms. Hilda Masaba revealed that sixty percent of the girls found themselves using the pads they did not like but they had to use them because they had no choice.

The period hygiene management study, which was carried out between November and December in refugee camps and host communities, revealed that cloth menstruation washable pads are frequently used by students.

Following these were menstruation sponges (4.5%), menstrual underwear (37.2%), and single-use pads (1.6 percent).

In order to guarantee that only high-quality pads are provided, Ms. Masaba requested that the government work with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

A photo showing  several brands of modern sanitary towels

"The government ought to issue a directive specifying the caliber of pads that contributors are to donate to schools. To protect students, the government should treat pads the same way it treated the quality of Covid-19 treatment, she said.

The survey also showed that girls' high absenteeism rates were due to a lack of sanitary supplies.