The Kenya National Discourse Forum (KNDF) conveys its full support to the plan of establishing a sanitary towels factory that will benefit girls from poor families in Busia County, Kenya.

The KNDF Vice Chairperson, Ms Anne Ombewa, said stakeholders in the education and health sectors are considering establishing a factory to manufacture sanitary towels to facilitate girls from poor families. The proposal of the factory dominated discussions at the Busia Menstrual Hygiene Workshop held on December 5, 2017. The discussions followed media reports that girls are engaging in prostitution for as low as sh100 to raise money to buy sanitary towels.
While addressing participants drawn from the health sector, children protection NGOs and a delegation from Busia County government led by deputy governor Moses Mulomi, Ms Ombewa asked the devolved unit to consider constructing a factory to complement partnering NGOs efforts to install one by June 2018.

Ken Odhiambo, an officer from Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) called for the installation of sanitary towel dispensers in schools and enactment of laws by the assembly to help with the sustainability of the initiative. 

Busia Schools Heads Association representative, Francis Okumu, said the ministry of education was supplying five disposable pads per girl every term and urged the county government to supplement the ministry’s effort by adding more towels.  

 

 

Rural Education Economic Program director, Mary Makokha, who has been spearheading children protection initiatives in the county, said that sexual abuse of boy-child is an emerging issue in the county with 61 cases already in court.

Deputy Governor Mulomi thanked partnering NGOs and particularly AMREF for a Kenya shillings 200,000 donation for sanitary pad kits and appealed to other stakeholders to follow suit.

The County Director for Medical services, Janerose Ambuchi said Kenya Shillings 60 million is needed for distribution of sanitary towels thus the need for a lasting solution.