- Morrine Adoyo, a senior researcher from Rongo University, said the institution took part in formulating the policy.
- The university has designed a single use sanitary towel from sugarcane waste products after they started with re-useable towels.
Image: MANUEL ODENY
Migori county has created a policy on menstrual hygiene to help boost dignity for women and girls.
Migori County Menstrual Hygiene Management Policy was launched on Wednesday in Migori town and has been created in line with the national policy.
The policy seeks to put in place instruments and laws that will guide the county and partners in improving menstrual health hygiene and accessibility of information and products.
Duncan Arunda, the county wash coordinator, said the policy will help in management of menstrual hygiene which will be key in designing public and institution toilets on best waste disposal of used sanitary towels.
“This policy will give the county and stakeholders a framework on how to access menstrual hygiene products, behaviour change and safe disposal of pads,” he said.
Arunda said institutions, especially schools, will have to build toilets equipped with sanitary towels, water and sanitary pad disposal bins for easy collection.
“Migori [County] Referral Hospital has incinerator to dispose of pads which will be collected in schools and institutions,” he said.
Emily Badia, the Migori deputy director of education, said in Migori about 20 per cent of girls drop out of school, with poor menstrual hygiene being the main cause.
She said most schools use pit latrines, which are filled faster because of used pads with some disposed of publicly, affecting the environment and blocking sewer lines.
“We still have stigma around menstrual period and access to pads for girls. Schools also grapple with how to dispose them of, [so I believe] this policy will help,” Badia said.
Kenya had set aside Sh470 million during the 2017-18 financial year to allow the Department of Gender and Affirmative Action to procure and distribute sanitary towels to 3.7 million girls in public primary schools, special primary and secondary schools.
The programme, which has benefited 11.2 million girls, has been running from 2011 with Treasury pumping Sh1.9 billion.
During the launch, the government said girls from poor families miss 20 per cent of school days in a year due to lack of sanitary towels.
Morrine Adoyo, a senior researcher from Rongo University, said the institution took part in formulating the policy because it has a capacity to produce more than 1,000 pads daily at their textile department.
The university has designed a single use sanitary towel from sugarcane waste products after they started with re-useable towels.
“Menstrual stigma has seen re-usable pads associated with poverty and being unclean although they are key in increasing accessibility and conserving the environment,” Adoyo said.
She said new pads should be bio-degradable to be able to decompose faster to avoid affecting the environment and blocking sewers.
The policy, Adoyo said, will help stakeholders to invest in sanitary hygiene and put pressure on Migori government to design toilets which are friendly to its users.
Migori, Kisumu and Siaya county First Ladies Agnes Ayacko, Dorothy Nyong'o and Betty Orengo also attended the launch.