Many girls from disadvantaged families continue to miss out on education due to absenteeism which is related to sexual and reproductive health issues, especially when they cannot afford sanitary towels during their menstruation.
A UNESCO report (2016) estimates that one out of 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa skips school during their menstrual cycle.
Data from the Ministry of Education also reveals that a girl who misses school for four days in 28 days (month) loses 13 learning days, which is equivalent to two weeks of learning per term.
This means that in one academic year (nine months), a girl loses a total of 39 learning days which translates to six weeks of learning time.
In order to address this challenge, the government through the Ministry of Education has been running the sanitary towel programme to provide access to sanitary towels to girls in public primary schools.
So far, the Ministry has spent approximately Sh.3.1 billion in the financial years 2011/2012 to 2021/2022 on the programme.
Notably, the distribution of the sanitary towels has since been transferred to the offices of the County Woman Representatives following a recommendation from the Social Protection Committee of the National Assembly.
In this regard, the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action partnered with the National Government Affirmative Action Fund – NGAAF in Kisii to distribute 583,264 sanitary towels to girls in public primary and junior secondary schools in Kisii County.
Speaking during the launch of the initiative in Kenyenya Sub County on Monday, Kisii Woman Rep Dorice Aburi noted they are targeting girls who had attained the puberty age as opposed to the previous years where the programme only considered girls in upper classes.
Mrs. Aburi pointed out that lack of access to sanitary towels due to high poverty levels, especially in rural areas, had contributed to poor class attendance among girls, forcing them to drop out of school.
The Woman Rep encouraged the school management to collect data on the number of students in need of the dignity packs to inform the allocation of quantities of the commodity in schools.
She lauded the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action for spearheading the programme together with her office and assured the students that they will provide adequate sanitary towels for the school period.
Further, Aburi said there are ongoing discussions among women leaders to push the government to allocate more funds towards the office of the Woman Rep so that they can support the school-going girls with sanitary pads during the holidays as well.
Kenyenya Deputy County Commissioner Mutembei Mbiuki who spoke on behalf of the Kisii County Commissioner affirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that every child in the country has access to free basic education.
Mr. Mbiuki said they will work closely with the school heads who will be in-charge of the distribution of the sanitary towels to guarantee equity and transparency of the process.
“In Kenyenya Sub County, a total of 69560 sanitary towels will be distributed to 8695 girls from 79 public primary and junior secondary schools in the region to ensure they remain in school,” he noted.
Mbiuki noted there were students who were reporting to school as a result of the 100 percent transition requirement by the Ministry of Education, but failing to attend classes as expected, adding that no parent should keep a child at home during school periods.
Further, the DCC encouraged parents to report cases of gender-based violence among school-going girls adding that the relevant authorities are ready to take action against perpetrators of such acts.
On his part, Kisii County KEPSHA Chairman, Hezron Onsoti said the assigning of the sanitary towels distribution to the office of the Woman Rep will ensure seamless distribution of sanitary pads to all schools.
Onsoti urged the education stakeholders to provide water storage tanks in schools so that the girls have sufficient water for use whenever they are in their menses.
Emily Mokeira, a student at Kenyenya primary school and a beneficiary of the programme thanked the national government for the initiative adding that it would ensure they are comfortable in school and remain focused on their academics.
Also present during the event was the County Director of Education Philip Chirchir, members of the Kisii NGAAF Committee, school heads and teachers from various public primary and junior secondary schools in Kenyenya Sub County.
The Sanitary Towels Programme was first launched by the Ministry of Education in 2011 with the aim of increasing access of sexual and reproductive health products to teenage girls in order to increase their retention rates and ensure they transition to higher levels of learning.
In addition, Section 2 (k) of the Basic Education (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2017 provides for free, sufficient and quality sanitary pads to every girl registered and enrolled in public basic education institution who has attained puberty as well as a safe and environmentally sound mechanism for disposal of the sanitary towels.
By Mercy Osongo
