AfricaPress-Tanzania: CRDB Bank has launched a campaign aimed at distributing sanitary towels for girls in school to promote the education and retention of the girl child for a better learning.
CRDB Bank Southern Zone Manager, Ms Jenifa Tondi made the revelation here when providing towels to Makukwe secondary school in Newala District.
She said the campaign conducted countrywide provides support with which the girls manage menstruation in a healthy, safe and dignified manner.
“Basing on the challenges that girls undergo in the face of menstrual period, CRDB Bank has rolled a campaign dubbed ‘Hedhi Salama, Elimu Bora’ aimed at supporting girls to manage menstruation in a healthy manner,” she noted.
She said CRDB Bank distributes the materials to rural adolescent girls in schools in the country to further social and economic empowerment and growth.
On the other hand, the District Commissioner of Newala District Aziza Mangosongo said the accessibility of sanitary towels for girls in rural schools is still a big challenge, a move that lures many girls to drop out of schools.
“Acquiring sanitary towels especially for rural adolescent girls is still a big challenge and this causes many girls to miss crucial days of school and even dropping out,” she said.
Girls in Makukwe Secondary School thanked CRDB bank for the support saying that lack of menstruation materials imposes negative health consequences, causing girls to worry and giving them reason to skip and even drop out of school during their periods.
“We wish such a support could happen every time to help us manage menstruations because when most of us start attending to our periods we tend to worry that we will have a leak at school and be harassed or teased forcing us to skip school by staying at home as we miss classes,” said Shadia Morish, a student at Makukwe school.
A report conducted by National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in fourteen Districts in Tanzania, shows 15 per cent of girls fail to attend school due to menstruation period as UNESCO reports estimate that one in ten girls in Sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their menstrual cycle.
The report says that caring for menstruation health also contributes to achieving a number of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG ) and clean water sanitation (SDG 6)
