On April 24, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama launched a landmark initiative that speaks not only to the educational development of the girl-child, but also to her health and dignity.
Dubbed “The Free Sanitary Pad” initiative, it is expected to benefit at least two million schoolgirls in public basic and secondary schools nationwide. The aim is to improve menstrual health and hygiene, reduce absenteeism, and combat the stigma surrounding menstruation—all of which affect the overall well-being and academic performance of girls.
The initiative sheds light on a long-ignored reality: many girls miss up to five days of school every month, amounting to nearly 40 days a year, simply because they lack access to proper sanitary products. These are not just statistics. They reflect real-life consequences—girls falling behind in class, losing confidence, and struggling to catch up due to a natural biological process.
For many, this programme is more than just the distribution of pads. It is an emphatic statement that, “No girl in the country must miss school because of her menstrual period.”
Moreover, the initiative aligns with Ghana’s national development priorities and global commitments, particularly Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5, which focus on quality education and gender equality.
As President Mahama rightly stated, “This programme exists to remove one of the silent yet powerful obstacles standing in the way of our girl-child’s dreams. We are acting today to restore hope to the girls who thought they had to sit out for several days every month, hope to parents who worried about how to provide these essential products to their daughters, and hope to a nation that wants every child to rise regardless of their background or their gender.”
While the initiative has been widely praised, its rollout has brought to the fore an equally pressing issue: the proper disposal of used sanitary pads.
In a country still grappling with solid and liquid waste management, concerns about how to handle this new stream of waste are not misplaced. Promoting girls’ health and education must go hand in hand with protecting their dignity and the environment.
It was therefore encouraging when the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, announced the formation of a taskforce to oversee safe and environmentally sound disposal of sanitary pads in schools.
The taskforce is expected to recommend and implement sustainable solutions that meet both public health standards and environmental protection goals. In the Minister’s words, “This is not only a sanitation issue but one of dignity, education, and sustainability.”
Indeed, the Free Pad Initiative goes beyond keeping girls in school; it affirms their worth and addresses health, education, and dignity together.
We on The Ghanaian Times trust that the taskforce will be given the necessary tools and support to succeed in this vital mission.
In the same vain, we equally urge the taskforce to remain committed to its charge. Only then can we confidently say: “Yes! The girl-child matters, and her holistic development—education, health, and dignity—is our pride!”