NAN-HG-2
Students
Jos, March 14, 2017 (NAN) A Jos-based pharmacist, Miss Niahima Nasir, on Tuesday,
gave out five reusable sanitary pads each to the 250 female students in Government Secondary School Gangare in Jos, Plateau.
Nasir told a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent in Jos after distributing the commodity that she was inspired by the difficulties faced by women and girls in accessing sanitary pads.
She said “when I went to buy the sanitary towel for my use, I was shocked at how expensive it has become.
“The Always brand of sanitary pad that has eight pieces in it is now N450 instead of the N180 or N200 sold in December 2016 through January 2017.
“The price hike is just too much and I know that a lot of women and girls will not be able to access it.
“I realised that there is need to assist women and girls because sanitary towel is a commodity they use during their monthly menstrual cycle.
“The high price of the commodity might force them to go back to the use of old wrappers which might not be clean to protect them from contracting diseases.”
The pharmacist said that she started a Sanitary Pad Drive on social media to meet
the need in her community.
She disclosed that the reusable sanitary pad, which were of high quality, super absorbent and anti-bacterial, was made in Nigeria, manufactured in Minna, Niger
State.
She added that five reusable pads per woman/girl was expected to be used for a minimum of one year.
Nasir said she also planned to give out five pads per woman/girl in one secondary school, one IDP camp and an orphanage, noting that her target was to reach 1,000 women and girls.
She expressed the hope to continue to assist girls and women in that direction
“so that every woman and girl can have access to sanitary pads.”
Zainab Hamza, a beneficiary of the free sanitary pad and student of Government Secondary School Gangare in Jos, thanked Nasir for the assistance.
She said it would alleviate a lot of financial stress off her parents when next she
saw her period. (NAN)
UBO/HA
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Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu