{"id":121913,"date":"2026-05-29T07:03:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=121913"},"modified":"2026-05-29T07:03:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:03:35","slug":"csos-urge-government-to-include-out-of-school-girls-in-free-sanitary-pad-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=121913","title":{"rendered":"CSOs Urge Government to Include Out-of-School Girls in Free Sanitary Pad Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 37 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Isaac Kofi Dzokpo, https:\/\/www.newsghana.com.gh\/csos-urge-government-to-include-out-of-school-girls-in-free-sanitary-pad-policy\/The Ghana CSOs Platform on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has called on the government to expand the country\u2019s Free Sanitary Pad Distribution Policy to include girls and young women outside the formal school system.
\nThe call was made as the Platform marked the third anniversary of its landmark #DontTaxMyPad advocacy campaign in commemoration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2026, under the global theme, \u201cTogether for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.\u201d
\nThe Platform praised the government for key policy reforms achieved through sustained advocacy but stressed that thousands of vulnerable girls and young women remain excluded from the current intervention.<\/p>\n

The #DontTaxMyPad campaign, launched on Menstrual Hygiene Day in 2023, has recorded major advocacy successes over the past three years.
\nIn 2024, following campaigns including social media activism, petitions, press conferences, webinars, and a picketing exercise at Parliament, the government announced zero-rated VAT on locally produced sanitary pads and import duty waivers on raw materials used in local pad manufacturing.
\nIn 2025, the government further committed GH\u00a2292.4 million towards the distribution of free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools, a programme currently benefiting nearly two million schoolgirls every month.
\nIn a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the Ghana CSO Platform on the SDGs, Mrs. Levlyn Konadu Asiedu, the Platform described the progress as a significant milestone in menstrual health advocacy in Ghana.
\n\u201cThree years ago, sanitary pads were taxed with more than 32 percent in taxes at a time when a pack cost more than a day\u2019s minimum wage of GH\u00a214.88. Today, that policy has been reversed, and millions of schoolgirls are receiving pads free of charge. We commend the government for listening and acting,\u201d she stated.
\nDespite the gains, the Platform said a major gap still exists in the country\u2019s menstrual health response, particularly for girls and young women outside formal education.
\nAccording to the statement, an estimated 1.8 million girls and young women in Ghana are engaged in apprenticeships, vocational training, informal employment, or are completely out of school, and are therefore excluded from the free sanitary pad programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese young women menstruate every month and face the same economic barriers that drove the original campaign,\u201d Mrs. Asiedu noted.
\n\u201cA policy that leaves out the girl in a hairdressing apprenticeship in Kumasi, the young woman working in a chop bar in Nkwanta, or the school dropout in a rural community in the Savannah Region is a policy that is not yet complete,\u201d she added.
\nThe Platform is therefore urging the government to develop a comprehensive national menstrual health strategy that covers all girls and women, regardless of their educational status or location.
\nAmong its recommendations, the Platform called on the government to extend the free sanitary pad programme to girls and young women outside the formal school system, including those in apprenticeships, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, and informal settlements.
\nIt also called for increased investment in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, community-based distribution systems, and menstrual health education.
\nAdditionally, the Platform urged authorities to ensure strict market monitoring so that tax waivers on locally produced sanitary pads translate into sustained price reductions for consumers.
\nThe CSOs further demanded the publication of regular and transparent data on the distribution, reach, and pricing impact of the programme, while also advocating the integration of menstrual health services into the Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) programme to reach underserved communities.
\n\u201cExpanding the scope of the free sanitary pad policy will ensure that no girl or young woman is left behind and that every girl can menstruate with dignity,\u201d Mrs. Asiedu stressed.
\nThe Ghana CSOs Platform on the SDGs is a coordinating body for civil society organisations working towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
\nInstitutionalised in May 2016, the Platform consists of more than 400 member organisations, including coalitions, associations, unions, community-based organisations, local and international NGOs, and religious groups operating across Ghana.
\n NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Isaac Kofi Dzokpo, https:\/\/www.newsghana.com.gh\/csos-urge-government-to-include-out-of-school-girls-in-free-sanitary-pad-policy\/<\/p>\n

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NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Isaac Kofi Dzokpo, https:\/\/www.newsghana.com.gh\/csos-urge-government-to-include-out-of-school-girls-in-free-sanitary-pad-policy\/The Ghana CSOs Platform on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has called on the government to expand the country\u2019s Free Sanitary Pad Distribution Policy to include girls and young women outside the formal school system. The call was made as the Platform marked the third anniversary of its landmark #DontTaxMyPad advocacy campaign in commemoration of [\u2026] NewsGhana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Isaac Kofi Dzokpo, https:\/\/www.newsghana.com.gh\/csos-urge-government-to-include-out-of-school-girls-in-free-sanitary-pad-policy\/<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18647,18648,18649,18650,117],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-121913","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-link","6":"category-donttaxmypad","7":"category-free-sanitary-pads","8":"category-ghana-csos-platform-on-sdgs","9":"category-menstrual-health-ghana","10":"category-news","11":"post_format-post-format-link"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}