BREAKING: First Lady Remi Tinubu Launches Free Sanitary Pads For Schoolgirls [PHOTO]
Remi Tinubu sanitary pads programme has been launched to support 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities across Nigeria, under the Renewed Hope Initiative.
The initiative, themed “Flow with Confidence”, was flagged off on Thursday at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, by Senator Oluremi Tinubu, represented by Lagos State First Lady, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
The project, valued at N2.55 billion, aims to provide a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads to girls in rural schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Mrs Tinubu, the intervention seeks to end the stigma, infections and school absenteeism linked to lack of access to menstrual products.
“In today’s modern world, no girl should have to miss school because of her inability to afford sanitary products,” she said, stressing that the initiative is designed to safeguard both education and reproductive health.
The programme was simultaneously launched in Borno, Cross River, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kebbi, and Lagos states, with other states expected to follow as supplies arrive.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, represented by Permanent Secretary Abisola Adegbite, commended the effort, describing it as a bold step in prioritising girl-child education and dignity.
Experts have long warned that poverty-driven reliance on unsafe menstrual alternatives like rags or tissue exposes teenage girls to infections and infertility, fuelling school dropouts.
This intervention, Mrs Tinubu emphasised, is a decisive move to end such risks.