The Pad Bank initiative of the wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo on Wednesday recorded a major milestone with the donation of 300 packs of sanitary pads and 100 gallons of disinfectant by the World Health Organization, WHO.
The items donated to support the Pad Bank initiative of the governor’s wife, were handed over to the Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo team in Awka, by the Anambra State Director of the WHO, Dr Abdulnasir Adamu.
Recall that the governor’s wife had last month, launched the pad bank initiative, to promote sound hygiene hygiene among school girls in the state, as well as to address issues of menstrual emergencies that have become rampant among the girls in school.
The initiative had initially kicked off with the distribution of over 1,000 sanitary pads, to be held at the banks in the various schools.
Presenting the items yesterday, the Anambra State WHO Director, Dr Adamu noted that WHO has found interest in what the Anambra governor’s wife is doing in the areas of menstrual hygiene, health education and girl child support.
Dr Adamu equally noted that the programme modules of Mrs Soludo’s NGO, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, fall within the working objectives of WHO for developing countries, including her commitment to nutrition, hygiene, mental health, mother and infant health and environmental reforms.
The WHO chief who promised that the organization will continue to provide development partnership with Anambra State on critical health areas, commended the governor’s wife for leading transformational crusade that has been felt across the state and beyond.
“These areas where the First Lady is intervening in, strongly aligns with the programmes of the WHO and that’s why we are harkening to her appeal for partnership and support.
“What we have done today, is the beginning of a major partnership, towards securing the future of school children in the state, especially the girl child,” he vowed.
Receiving the donated items on behalf of the governor’s wife, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike described WHO as a progressive partner in the development of the state, and said that the items will be useful to the pad bank programme
He reiterated the vision of Mrs Soludo for establishing the pad bank project, which is to address common sanitary hygiene problems and menstrual emergencies in schools, and to ensure that each school girl in Anambra State accomplishes her dreams without stigma or phobia.
“The Healthy Living Brand is committed to providing solutions, with an eye on changing wrong health habits and establishing healthy ones in all Anambra homes.
“A major strategy is to catch the children young, instill these life-long survival habits and morals in them so that they grow old with them and live fulfilled lives,” Obiidike said.
The Healthy Living Pad Bank is a recent initiative of the governor’s wife NGO, that sponsors the provision of free sanitary pads at the beginning of each academic term in over 400 secondary schools where the healthy living school clubs are currently domiciled.
