Menstruation should be understood; let’s support girls to go through with confidence – Apaak

The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, says every community has the responsibility to create an environment where menstruation is understood, accepted, and supported for girls to thrive.

Speaking at the Commemoration of the 2025 Menstrual Hygiene Day at the Ashaiman Cluster of Schools, the Deputy Minister stated that every girl has the right to stay in school during her menstrual period.

“I wish to emphasize that the onset of menstruation is a landmark feature of female puberty and signals reproductive maturity. Anxiety, fear, confusion and even depression are frequently reported experiences of menarche.

“Menstrual health and hygiene education is therefore a vital aspect of health education. It is known that attitudes to menstruation and menstrual hygiene management and practices developed at menarche may persist throughout life”, Dr. Apaak stated.

According to him, the consequence of this is that many girls grow up with low self-esteem and are disempowered from high educational attainments.

“This should not be the case. Every girl has the right to stay in school during her period. Every woman has the right to manage her menstruation with safety, privacy, and confidence. Every community has the responsibility to create an environment where menstruation is understood, accepted, and supported for girls to thrive.

Dr. Apaak further stated that fathers, male teachers, boys, and men need to be enlightened on issues surrounding menstruation to enable them to play an advocacy role to support women and girls during the period.

“I wish to reiterate that activities related to menstrual health and hygiene schools are very dear to the heart of His Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama and he has initiated and launched the Free Sanitary Pads distribution to Basic and Senior High Schools across Ghana in line with his Manifesto promise. The sanitary pad distribution will go hand in hand with education to make the initiative more comprehensive”, he added.