Nakuru MCAs pass motion to give girls free sanitary towels

School girls from poor families in public primary schools in Nakuru County will soon receive free sanitary towels.

The assembly has passed a motion that compels Governor Lee Kinyanjui’s administration to provide them with the vital products

The motion sponsored by Nominated MCA Isabella Makori from Subukia compels the county to come up with a comprehensive programme to reach all school-going girls in the county’s 55 wards and supply them with quality sanitary towels.

Ms Makori noted that section 2 of the Basic Education Amendment Act of 2017 says the government should provide free, sufficient and quality sanitary towels to every girl registered under a public education institution and who has reached puberty.

The government is also supposed to ensure an environmentally safe mechanism for disposal of the sanitary towels.

Many risks

The majority of the girls in Nakuru’s rural areas have skipped school for lack of sanitary towels.

Ms Makori explained that the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted economic activities and led to closure of all learning institutions in the country.

She said some parents lost their sources of livelihood due to the pandemic and cannot afford to buy the products for their children.

"Majority of school-going teenage girls are unable to access the free sanitary towels," she said.

"I'm greatly concerned that this  may force them to engage in sex in exchange [for the product] thus putting them in danger of early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other social ills.”

She lauded Governor Kinyanjui for launching the menstrual hygiene programme but noted that the initiative has not benefited many girls in the county.

"The poor girls suffer every month while experiencing natural biological changes in their bodies," she said.

Correct data

Nominated MCA Jane Wambui Maina from Gilgil said disabled girls and women living with HIV/Aids should be included in the free sanitary towels programme.

Maiella Ward MCA Joseph Mungai Kamanu said that for the programme to be successful, Nakuru needs to get the correct data of girls in dire need as not all families in the county are poor.

"Some families are financially stable and can afford to buy the sanitary towels. That is why I'm calling for comprehensive data so the most vulnerable are identified and a budget set," he said.

Governor Kinyanjui must now assent to the motion for the executive to set aside funds for the programme in the supplementary budget or the budget estimates for the 2021/2022 financial year.