Images from the last two-day workshop conducted at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Alausa, Ikeja on the development of guidelines for menstrual hygiene management.
The Lagos State Government will establish the precedent for menstrual hygiene management standards in Nigeria in partnership with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
This information was provided at a two-day workshop on the development of guidelines for menstrual hygiene management that was recently held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Alausa, Ikeja, by Dr. (Mrs) Folashayo Oludara, Director, Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Education.
She said the training was a follow-up to the Y2021 research on menstrual hygiene management among girls in public schools in Lagos, which found that 55.4% of the sample population lacked basic knowledge on menstrual hygiene management. The programme was organised by the Ministry of Health.
According to Dr. Oludara, the event’s goal was to develop recommendations for managing menstruation health as a way to address risks to the menstrual health and hygiene of teenage girls in Lagos State and Nigeria as well as physical, emotional, psychological, and economical issues.
She cited the State Government’s past involvement in a number of initiatives meant to advance menstruation health and cleanliness in Lagos.
In her own words: “In several junior and senior secondary schools in Lagos, the Ministry has organised health seminars and distributed sanitary pads. On May 28, 2022, it was observed as World Menstrual Hygiene Day in several schools and at the Ikorodu Youth Hub for youth who were not enrolled in school.
Other initiatives are underway, and we intend to provide enough information to all menstrual females in the State.
Therefore, Mrs. Oludara urged the attendees and stakeholders to develop recommendations that are explicit, quantifiable, feasible, realistic, and long-lasting for the management of menstrual hygiene in Nigeria.
In an earlier statement, Dr. Amaka Haruna, a representative of UNFPA, recognised the efforts made by the Lagos State Government in leading the creation of the nation’s first menstrual hygiene management standards.
There are no menstrual hygiene regulations at the federal level, but several nations, such South Africa and India, have programmes in place to help girls when their periods begin and to educate them about the reproductive cycle.
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health is now being introduced at its commencement.
Haruna emphasised that there are many methods to standardise the process in terms of helping young girls when they experience their menstrual periods, claiming that the first research and conclusions on menstrual hygiene requirements of girls in Lagos and Southwest States did not fully address the difficulties.
Participants were informed about the research done in Y2021, particularly about some crucial critical elements to mind while drafting the recommendations, by Dr. Toriola Femi-Adebayo, a Community Health and Primary Healthcare Consultant from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
The session, according to her, was designed to meet the requirements of teenage girls and close knowledge gaps about menstruation, appropriate menstrual hygiene practises, and recommendations that provide a safe, private, and clean environment during the menstrual period.
“Using clean materials to absorb menstrual blood that may be changed discretely, safely, and hygienically as frequently as required for the course of the menstrual cycle is the practise of menstruation hygiene.
These include changing your clothes and underwear frequently, changing your sanitary pads every three to four hours, taking daily showers, especially if you have menorrhagia, washing your genitalia thoroughly after each time you urinate or defecate, continuing with your normal daily activities, and eating a balanced diet with lots of foods high in iron and calcium, according to Dr. Femi-Adebayo.
In order to achieve effective menstrual health management in Lagos, representatives from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, UNFPA, UNYPP, DAI, YAC, UNICEF, Action Health Incorporated, Private Sector Organizations, adolescent girls, and other stakeholders brainstormed on several ideas and lines of action.