In Uganda, girls have a low track record of completing their maximum education level, one of the reasons being lack of access menstrual hygiene products. Studies show that only 22 percent of Ugandan girls are enrolled in secondary school, which is similar to the 91 percent enrolled in in primary school.
According
to World Vision International (WVI), in Uganda, insufficient Menstrual Hygiene
Management in schools contributes to a drop out of up to 10 percent of girls at
the primary level. The SNV/IRC study report (2012) on Menstrual Management in
Uganda also shared the relationship between menstruation and absenteeism in
schools by girls noting that 60 percent of the girl-pupils absented themselves
from schools during their menstruation. The report indicated that on average,
there are 220 learning days in a year and missing 24 days in a year translates
into 11 percent of the time a girl pupil will miss learning due to menstrual
periods.
There
is limited availability of feminine hygiene products like disposable pads,
tampons and other products among school-going girls. Even then, these products
are usually too expensive for most Ugandan families, especially from rural
areas, to afford. Desperate to stop the monthly flow, girls most often resort
to using pieces of cloth, shreds of foam mattresses, toilet paper, newspapers,
banana plant fibers and even leaves. Not only are these options ineffective and
uncomfortable, but are also extremely unhygienic, putting girls at risk of
diseases.
If
hygienic practices are not followed during menstruation like changing sanitary pads after every 4 hours, washing and
drying re-usable sanitary towels properly in the sun, and washing hands after
handling using sanitary pads, then the chances of getting Urogenital Tract
Infections increase.
Adding
to this difficulty, menstrual pain manifests in different forms like abdominal/
stomach pain (dysmenorrhea) and back pain to which girls have limited knowledge
and skills for their management. Other physiological challenges include;
headache, stress, mood swings, body weakness and fatigue hence reduced
opportunities for accessing school. Girls are either stressed, very worried and
scared due to menstruation and such categories need psycho – socio support
which is rarely regarded important and provided in the different environments.
According
to a report from Ministry of Education and Sports (2020), out of the 79% women
and girls that experience menstrual pain, only 28% have access to pain killers.
Very few schools provide soap and basins to the girls and female teachers.
Thirty (30) out of the 152 girls reached reported to have lacked soap during
their menstrual periods.
The
report further indicates that over 50% of the 250 women and girls are either
stressed, worried, scared or isolated during menstruation, not many of them
receive any form of psycho-socio support. Only 15% of the girls of the 152
girls receive this kind of support from mothers, aunties, peers, health worker or
older sisters.
There
are existing government policies in place to ensure safety and education of
girls.
The
Environmental Health Policy (2005); emphasizes interventions that respond to
the differing needs of men, women and children, while recognizing that women
are the main users of water and sanitation facilities”. It further recognizes
that sanitation is essential for improving “women’s dignity.
Universal
Primary Education Policy (UPE) 1997: aims
to provide the facilities and resources to enable every child to enter and
remain in school until the primary cycle of education is complete.
Our
objectives at Joy for Children-Uganda include increased enrolment, retention
and achieved learning outcomes of children in schools, and psycho socio support
for children. We are currently running a project, promoting the education and
retention of the girl child in school through attending to their menstrual
hygiene management and we have been able to help girls in rural schools by
providing them with sanitary materials and soap. In addition, we provide psycho
socio support to girls that suffer with challenges of pain and shame and
encourage them to stay in school.
We
thank all the donors that have contributed to this cause for your generosity
and continue to ask for more support to further our goal of ensuring good
menstrual hygiene management, mental health and retention of girls in school.
