Mr Femi Aluko, the UNICEF Menstrual Health Management (MHM) Coordinator in Osun, on Monday called for the eradication of misconceptions, myths, taboos and superstitions surrounding menstruation.
Aluko made the call at the ongoing Zonal Workshop on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) organised by UNICEF in Ijebu-Ijesa, Osun.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that menstruation is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina.
NAN also reports that menstruation is a normal biological process and a key sign of reproductive health although it is treated as a negative, shameful and dirty condition in many cultures.
The MHM coordinator said that the misconceptions about MHM had resulted in shame, embarrassment and lack of confidence among adolescent school girls and women.
He said that the promotion of MHM was a ‘human right and global issue’ which must be properly attended to.
According to Aluko, menstrual hygiene is not just about management of the menstrual period but also about the need to address societal beliefs and taboos surrounding the issue.
He said a research conducted by UNICEF in some selected schools in the country revealed that negative societal beliefs and cultural norms resulted in restrictions and constituted impediments toward safe MHM practices by girls.
Aluko added that the research revealed that there was paucity of correct knowledge of pre-menarche (the period in the life of a female preceding the establishment of menstruation) by girls in Nigerian schools and communities.
The UNICEF coordinator said menstruation was a normal biological process in girls and women and must not be seen as a sickness or disease.
Also speaking at the workshop, Dr Temitayo Ogunsanwo, a UNICEF facilitator, described MHM as a complex issue and needed to be addressed in totality and in context.
According to Ogunsanwo, MHM is not a sickness but if not properly managed can result in health problems.
Ogunsanwo said that the challenges being faced by girls during menstruation were enormous.
She said there was urgent need by men, women, traditional as well as community and religious leaders to break the silence and myths surrounding MHM.
The UNICEF facilitator said that poor MHM in schools had resulted in poor school attendance, self-exclusion, early marriage and teenage pregnancy.
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