Alvine Kapitako

WINDHOEK - The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare on Friday donated 91 sanitary towels towards a campaign to collect 3000 sanitary towels for disadvantaged girls and young women in the Kavango East Region. 
The African Youth and Adolescents Network (AfriYan), the United Nations in Namibia and other stakeholders have embarked on a campaign to collect 3000 sanitary towels and soaps to donate to young women and girls in Kavango East. 
So far, 1700 sanitary towels have been collected.
The pads will be donated to the young women on 28 May as part of the World Menstrual Hygiene Day commemoration, an event aimed at advocating for menstrual health of youth.  
The day will be commemorated in the Kavango East Region this year. 
Deputy Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Lucia Witbooi said at the official hand-over of the sanitary towels that girls in remote rural areas are “dropping out of school” because they do not have sanitary pads to use when they are menstruating.  
“They (young women) are using many kinds of things as sanitary pads,” said Witbooi. She also used the platform to caution that boys should not be neglected while focusing on empowering girls and young women. 
“We have a cluster on issues concerning the girl child in the ministry, but we want to include the boy child. We must not neglect the boy child.” 
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative to Namibia Rachel Odede said the United Nations Populations Fund, United Nations Development Fund, and Unicef are committed to the development of young people. 
She said that the donation of the pads will translate into better results in the long run for young women and girls. The United Nations cannot do it alone but with other partners including government. “You are giving the girl child the opportunity to excel,” said Odede. AfriYan president Ashwell Forbes reiterated his message delivered on previous platforms, that with the collection of sanitary towels, he hopes that a platform will be started for tax-free sanitary towels. “We have realised that menstruation is more than just a pad,” said Forbes.