Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading commercial bank through it’s women platform; One Woman in partnership with Sanitary Aid Nigeria Initiative has donated period kits to 2,000 girls in secondary schools across the country as part of measures to help keep the girl-child in school in a hygienic condition.
Speaking at one of the benefiting schools in Lagos recently, Temi Dalley, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of the bank, said Sterling Bank is, through the donation, helping to provide young girls with the products they could use and reuse during their menstrual cycle periods for up to 2 years. She identified lack of access to affordable menstrual products as one of the problems that keep girls in the hinterland out of school.
According to her, “Without access to these products, many female students miss school lessons during their periods or drop out entirely for the same reason.” She said records show that one in 10 female students in sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their periods. Dalley added that anecdotal data in Nigeria indicates that female students from poor homes do not go to school when they are menstruating, remarking that having a period should not have to cost a student her education. She said there were some reasons why people are not likely to hear enough about this problem and they include stigma and the notion that periods are a “female problem” and theirs alone to worry about.