BAUCHI — THE Bauchi State House of Assembly has adopted a resolution to supply free sanitary pads monthly to female students and has approved the sum of N2 million in the 2005 appropriation bill for the bulk purchase of sanitary pads to be distributed to all post primary schools in the state.
A delegation of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America international (PPFA-I) in collaboration with the National Council For Women Society (NCWS) Bauchi chapter led by Thomas Gofwan during a courtesy call on the Speaker of the Bauchi State house of Assembly had earlier appealed to the house to enact a bill on the issue. Moving a motion to that effect at the sitting of the House, Ahmed Lumana, representing Dass constituency explained that the motion was borne out of the need to save female students from the hazards associated with the use of unconventional and unhealthy methods apart from sanitary pad for menstrual flow. Ahmed Lumana disclosed that reports across the state indicated female students are getting reproductive tract infections due to the use of unhygienic materials for their monthly flow saying that it is necessary that the assembly intervened .
In his own contribution to the motion, a member representing Lere/Bula constituency, Jibril Tafida Lere emphasized that it was a serious health hazard associated with improper handling of monthly menstrual flow by female students. Tafida Lere explained that depending on the method used by a female during her monthly flow, she could be infected with any reproductive infection and in extreme cases can lead to infertility. He then urged the members of the house as a matter of urgency to support the motion to safe guard the future of the young girls in the state saying, "what ever we do now is for posterity which will vindicate us".
The only woman member of the House Habiba Sabo Gabarin described the motion as very necessary for the protection of safe mother hood saying, "if we refuse to act now, we will live to regret our inaction". After a unanimous adoption of the motion, the Speaker, Tanko Ibrahim Jallam, directed the clerk Mohamed Ya’’u Gital to immediately write the executive on the development with a call that it must be complied with without further delay.
