Stakeholders have called on the Bauchi government to establish sanitary pad banks in all-female schools to improve the menstrual health of schoolchildren.

This is contained in a communique issued and signed by Grace Maikudi, who represented civil society organisations in Bauchi at the end of a roundtable commemorating the 2023 International Day of the Girl Child.

The meeting was organised by the Attah Sisters Helping Hands. The stakeholders said establishing the bank would also ensure the continuous availability of pads in facilities for girls in and out of school during emergencies.

“Some of our girls miss school because they are on their periods. Some do not go to school because their parents do not have money to buy the products,” they said.

They urged parents and guardians to report acts of sexual and gender-based violence to the appropriate authorities. They noted that parents and guardians do not report such abuses.

The stakeholders also stressed the need to provide schools with Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities as they called for increased enrolment and retention of girls in schools.

(NAN)