The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has put forward an ambitious budget proposal for the provision of sanitary wear to school going girls, deputy minister Edgar Moyo has said.
The ministry in a research carried out recently, took note of the fact that menstruation hygiene is one of the major reasons why most young girls abscond school.
In an interview with 263Chat, Moyo said the ministry has presented a budget to the Ministry of Finance to cater for sanitary wear for school girls.
“We have presented a bill that is over a billion dollars to the Ministry of Finance. Above all we call for partners so that we can continue making these pads available, “said Moyo.
“We understand that girls absent themselves from schools as a result of menstrual issues hence we are doing all we can to make life easier for them so that they can reach their potential and flourish, ” Moyo added.
Sanitary wear availability has become a problem in rural areas as most young women and girls are said to be using cow dung as the price of sanitary pads continue to skyrocket.
In urban areas, girls resort to using old clothes, leaves and paper, all which can be cancerous to their reproductive systems.