Nigeria Group Gives 150 Girls Free Period Products, Education

Girls across Nigeria are about to get help staying in school, thanks to a program addressing one of education's most overlooked barriers: access to period products.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Nigeria will host a menstrual health awareness event on May 25 in Keffi, Nasarawa State, bringing together 150 students from local secondary schools. Each participant will receive a two-month supply of sanitary towels and educational materials about managing menstruation safely.

The program comes at a critical time. In low-income Nigerian communities, many families cannot afford basic sanitary products, forcing girls to miss school during their periods or resort to unsafe alternatives. Stigma compounds the problem, with girls facing shame and misinformation about a natural biological process.

Victory Baptist School in Daddin-Kowa will host the event, which includes government officials and civil society groups focused on gender and health issues. The goal is simple: give girls the tools and knowledge they need to stay in school with dignity.

The Ripple Effect spreads far beyond those 150 students. When girls miss school because of their periods, they fall behind academically and face higher dropout rates. By addressing menstrual health, the program tackles multiple challenges at once: education access, health literacy, and gender equality.

Martin Matabishi, AHF Africa Bureau Chief, connected the dots to broader public health. Menstrual health links directly to HIV and STI prevention, he explained, noting that unsafe coping strategies put girls at risk. Across Africa, too many young women lack access to basic products and safe facilities.

The numbers tell a sobering story. Globally, 500 million of the two billion people who menstruate experience period poverty. In Nigeria, the crisis deepens when communities lack clean water and proper sanitation facilities, making it nearly impossible for girls to manage their periods at school.

The May 28 Menstrual Hygiene Day campaign theme, "Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld," pushes for exactly what this program delivers: better access to products, health services, and accurate information while fighting discrimination.

Echey Ijezie, AHF Nigeria's Country Programme Director, emphasized that inadequate access to menstrual products and reproductive health information remains a global problem limiting girls' ability to manage their health safely. This program offers a practical solution that other communities can replicate.

The two-month supply gives these 150 girls a stable start and shows what's possible when organizations address basic needs directly.