Nerebehin, Ghana - Amdiya Latiff, Chief Executive Officer, ECO-ME Africa, is addressing girls' absenteeism in rural Ghana by producing reusable sanitary pads to keep young adults in school during menstrual periods.

“As national service personnel sent to Nerebehin at Atwima Nwabiagya district of the Ashanti Region, I noticed most young adults do not attend class during their menstrual flows. I began buying sanitary pads with my allowance” But this approach is not sustainable because half of the school's population is female, says Amdiya Abdul Latiff.

The challenge of students in schools in rural Ghana ranges from the unavailability of structures and furniture to little or non-availability of human resources that will impact students with knowledge.

However, at the core of these challenges is the girl absenteeism, especially during menstrual periods. The use of cloth, toilet rolls or pieces of cotton is common. As a result, most menstruating girls will stay at home for fear of soiling their uniforms and getting mocked by their male counterparts.

Most parents in rural Ghana are either oblivious to hygienic ways of managing the menstrual periods of their young adults or cannot afford disposable sanitary pads.

I dreamt of a sustainable, hygienic and affordable initiative that is safe for these girls. Hence the production of the reusable sanitary pads.

After sensitization and behaviour change outreach programs, Amdiya got the support to provide what she envisioned as an answer to female absenteeism in rural Ghana.

"I did outreach programs to ensure there’s a change in the mindset of parents about the needs of their young adults and how important it is to get them menstrual pads during their menstrual period”.

After four years of research and preparation towards obtaining the documentation for her product, we did the first commercial production in the middle of 2022.

ECO-ME currently provides direct jobs to ten Ghanaians and produces 10000 pieces of pads monthly for the Ghanaian and international markets, with support from Afriplastics, UNICEF, GIZ, SNV, UNDCF, European Union and Netherlands Embassy, Ghana.

It was a dream come through because I feel fulfilled to have done this for not only girls in my district but the entire country and even abroad. The product will bring relief to rural girls who cannot afford the disposable pads for use, Amdiya said.