Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM). Ghana is joining hands with the rest of the world in celebrating this year's edition.
Menstrual Hygiene Day was initiated by the German-based NGO WASH United in 2014 and aims to benefit women and girls worldwide. The 28th was selected to acknowledge that 28 days is the average length of the menstrual cycle. This year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day is being held under the theme: ‘It’s Time For Action.’
The Ghana Education Service (GES) is organizing the celebration in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources as well as the Ghana Health Service.
According to GES in a statement: “it is a fact that too many girls are missing school and their future because of misinformation, myths and harmful practices that relate menstruation.â€
It indicated that: “about 26% of the global population menstruates between 2 and 7 days each month. That’s 3000 days in a lifetime and 7 million girls and women in Ghana.â€
 “Menstruation affects women and girls differently depending on social norms, customs, education, geography and socioeconomic factors,†the statement said.
It added that: “each month, women and girls need to manage this with dignity, whether they are at home, school, at work or when travelling.â€
Though the world is slowly moving towards removing the social stigma surrounding menstruation, the word ‘period’ still remains a taboo in most societies. In low-income countries, women and girls’ choices of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by the costs, availability and social norms.
In most countries, girls still avoid going to school when they are on their period. Women in rural areas or in poverty-ridden nations still use paper and other harmful materials such as dried leaves and plastic as a substitute for sanitary pads.
To do away with the same, the main theme of this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day is ‘It’s Time for Action!’ The day aims to ensure no girl is left behind. In the year 2018, around 310 organizations educated around 27.2 million girls across 134 countries. For the year 2019, the participating organizations are committed to educating a total of 41.4 million girls across the world.
Menstrual Hygiene Day creates an occasion for publicizing information in the media, including social media. Public information campaigns can help to engage decision-makers in policy dialogue.
The day offers an opportunity to actively advocate for the integration of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) into global, national and local policies and programmes.
 Health risks of poor menstrual hygiene
1. Unclean sanitary pads/ Harmful sanitary pad alternatives: The use of unclean pads or harmful sanitary pad alternatives such as dried leaves or paper can cause fungal infection in the reproductive tract or urinary infection.
2. Prolonged wearing of sanitary pad: By wearing one sanitary pad beyond its stipulated time period, which is 6-8 hours, one is prone to develop rashes and vaginal yeast infections with the side effect of bad odour.
3. Disposal of sanitary napkins: The disposal of sanitary napkins is a problem that plagues society at large. Most women throw them in the garbage bin, which often then end up getting mixed with dry, wet and other hazardous waste. Exposed sanitary napkins can also cause serious health issues and skin diseases. They also end up clogging the drains, adding to the toxic waste.
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