Ministerial dialogue in Zambia: Free sanitary pad policy helping protect vulnerable girls – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Apaak, says the government’s free sanitary pad policy is protecting vulnerable school girls from teenage pregnancy.

He said period poverty has become a hidden challenge, exposing many school girls to unsafe relationships, especially among families struggling to meet basic needs.

“Poverty tends to be the trigger; it is the most important factor that can cause girls to become pregnant at a stage of their lives when they are not ready,” Deputy Minister of Education, Apaak, stated during a UNESCO ministerial dialogue held in Livingstone, Zambia.

According to him, many girls who cannot afford sanitary pads are sometimes forced into transactional relationships with men and boys who offer to buy the products for them.

“Because they cannot afford the pads, they turn to men and boys who promise to buy them these pads, they exchange, so it becomes transactional,” he explained.

Dr. Apaak said the government introduced the free sanitary pad policy to remove the burden on struggling families and shield girls from exploitation linked to menstrual hygiene needs.

He disclosed that since the implementation of the programme, over 12 million packs of sanitary pads have been distributed to school girls nationwide to ensure they remain in school comfortably.

“Since we took over the reins of governance, we introduced the free sanitary pad policy, which we have implemented. Last year, we procured and supplied 12.2 million packs of pads to all our girls from primary school to secondary school who need them,” he explained.

Dr. Apaak emphasized that the programme will continue this year as part of broader efforts to improve girls’ welfare, reduce teenage pregnancy, and support education retention.

“We are just getting to the second year, and this year we are doing the same,” Dr. Apaak added.