Chief of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project at UNICEF, David Duncan, has said that taboos and myths on menstruation are negatively affecting the future of girls.

According to him, certain traditional practices and superstitious beliefs have been detrimental to the academic and medical aspects of female pupils.

Mr. Duncan made these remarks at a workshop on menstrual hygiene management, organized by the Ghana Education Service on November 16, 2017.

“There are collective taboos. There is misinformation and practices out there which are all detrimental to our young girls’ future. We know that in many cases, young girls are being shunned by communities. And we know it’s been detrimental to their education and to their health”, he lamented.

He encouraged all stakeholders to advocate for more affordable gender-friendly facilities since the absence of such facilities makes it difficult for girls to manage their menstrual hygiene in school.

“It is encouraging to see steps being made to remove those barriers. We are also encouraging all of the stakeholders to be advocating for more cost effective gender-friendly change facilities .There is the need for change facilities. Without the facilities, it’s so much harder for girls to manage their menstrual hygiene in school”, he stated.

Mr. Duncan disclosed that UNICEF will support government to develop cost effective gender-friendly change facilities for girls.

“The challenge we have is at the moment, the options to provide those facilities are not affordable. UNICEF will be supporting government to try and develop some more affordable gender-friendly facilities”, he assured Ghanaians.