Cross River State inaugurates Technical Working Group on Menstrual Health and Hygiene

Aondosoo Labe | @WASHstories |

Cross River State has inaugurated her Technical Working Group (TWG) on Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH). The event was held on Monday, 28th September, 2020, in Calabar, the state capital. 

The primary mandate of the TWG is to coordinate activities on MHM in the state and also create sustainable platforms to break the silence on menstruation and ensure that women and girls practice safe menstruation – as part of efforts towards development and institutionalization of Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHHM) at the state level.

                                         Ms. Elizabeth Jeiyol with the Honourable Commissioner of Women Affairs, Cross River State

In her keynote address, the National Coordinator, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Ms. Elizabeth Jeiyol, stated that “millions of girls worldwide have their schooling interrupted or terminated due to the adverse effects of menstruation – every day, hundreds of millions of women and girls menstruate, many without the facilities to manage their menstrual health safely; and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation for women and girls - as its resultant protocols of lockdowns, social distancing, movement restrictions, and handwashing, have all presented new challenges that have deepened pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems which have led to reduced access to menstrual products by women and girls and exacerbated Period Poverty that has further intensified experiences of stigma around periods.”

Ms. Jeiyol also revealed that the WSSCC is evolving into the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF), to deliver at the scale required to achieve sanitation and hygiene leaving no one behind. She further explained that the SHF is a dedicated global fund large enough to invest in government-led programmes for real impact; and aims to fill a gaping void in the international response to the sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health crisis and to give sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health a mechanism to take its response to a new level.

Furthermore, the National Coordinator commended the efforts of stakeholders in Cross River State and lauded the inauguration of a Technical Working Group for Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) as a positive step towards achieving safe menstruation for women and girls in Cross River State.