A new survey by Global Communities and ‘Be Girl’ under the USAID-funded WASH for Health Program exploring the effects of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) interventions for girls in urban and rural Ghanaian communities has highlighted some measures necessary to increase girls’ ability to attend and actively participate in school during menstruation.
Already, there are many myths and misconceptions about menstruation in Ghana that limit girls’ participation in activities while they are menstruating.
However, Global Communities and ‘Be Girl’ in its report offers some insight into what parents, as well as teachers, can do to change these perceptions.
The report, titled “Improving school attendance and positive feelings about menstruation for girls in Ghana through a holistic menstrual health and hygiene management approach” points out that the provision of Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) education on a continuous basis for girls and boys in schools is critical.
Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) involves the management of hygiene associated with the menstrual process.
It includes the factors that link menstruation with health, well-being, gender equality, education, equity, empowerment, and rights.
The report adds that to increase girls’ ability to attend school during menstruation, and to improve their educational outcomes, messaging around MHH should highlight menstruation as a natural biological process in order to reduce stigma and norms that are detrimental to girls.
Also, menstrual hygiene products like Be Girl’s reusable PeriodPanties should be made more widely available, including in schools and in poorer communities.
The report also stressed the need for more research to be done on the impacts of education and product provision interventions on girls’ attendance and participation in school, as well as on their levels of comfort and confidence.
Furthermore, more research should also be done on the impacts of MHH education on boys’ perceptions and knowledge of menstruation and whether this can better support an enabling environment for girls to actively participate in school.
Global Communities is an international non-profit organization that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable.
The organization has an office in Ghana and operates in 9 regions – Savannah, Northern, Volta, Oti, Central, Western, Western-North, Greater Accra and Eastern Regions.
‘Be Girl’ is a mission-driven US-based social enterprise that creates innovative, reusable menstrual protection products and age-appropriate menstrual education methodologies.
Survey
The intervention was implemented in schools in the Volta, Greater Accra, and Western and Northern Regions of Ghana, and reached 1,142 girls and 276 boys.
The survey revealed that girls reporting difficulties in attending schools was reduced from 47% to 10% .
This was, as a result, of the MHH approach, that includes providing sustainable period products and education effectively reduced barriers to girls’ school attendance.
It also indicated that 92% of girls reported positive feelings about menstruation and 88% of boys reported feeling more comfortable around girls during their period, as a result of the MHH intervention.
Despite a rural-urban difference in the percentages of girls who reported facing difficulty attending school during menstruation (41% in urban areas vs. 58% in rural areas), both groups saw a roughly five-fold decrease post-intervention, indicating that the intervention is likely similarly impactful in both environments.