By Happiness Silivester Masatu
Empowering secondary school girls in Dodoma Region through sanitary pad distribution is a crucial initiative aimed at addressing menstrual hygiene management (MHM) challenges and promoting girls’ education. Menstrual hygiene remains a significant barrier to girls’ education in many parts of the world, including Dodoma Region, where access to sanitary pads is limited, leading to absenteeism and dropouts among girls. This proposal outlines a comprehensive plan to distribute sanitary pads to secondary school girls in Dodoma Region, thereby empowering them to stay in school and pursue their education.
Various initiatives have been implemented by governmental bodies and other relevant stakeholders, such as the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), Tanzania Youth Alliance (TAYOA), Population Services International (PSI), and FEMINA, to enhancing menstrual hygiene management for girl students in Tanzania. These programs encompass activities such as raising awareness among female students regarding the management of menstrual hygiene, delivering reproductive health education, and supplying sanitary pads to adolescent females.
Despite the implementation of many efforts, Tanzania exhibits a subpar performance in terms of knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding menstrual hygiene management, with discernible disparities observed between rural and urban regions. This is due to insufficient provision of hygiene products, access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and particularly within educational institutions, which have a detrimental effect on the management of menstruation among adolescent girls.
Conduct Needs Assessment of six Schools in Dodoma region: Begin with a comprehensive needs assessment to understand the specific challenges faced by girls regarding menstrual hygiene management in Dodoma Region.
Below is a table of findings from a research done in year 2023.
| Proposal : Empowering Secondary School Girls in Dodoma Region Through Sanitary Pad Distribution | ||||||
| Result Areas | Unit | # Unit | Unit Rate | Unit | # Unit | Amount (TZS) |
| Activity 1.1 Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to understand the specific challenges faced by girls regarding menstrual hygiene management in Dodoma Region | ||||||
| ParticipantsAllowance | Pts | 5 | 100,000.00 | days | 6 | 3,000,000.00 |
| Meals and refreshments | Pts | 5 | 20,000.00 | days | 6 | 600,000.00 |
| Stationaries | Pts | 10 | 4,000.00 | days | 6 | 240,000.00 |
| Contigency | Pts | 1 | 500,000.00 | days | 1 | 500,000.00 |
| Car Hire | Pts | 1 | 300,000.00 | days | 6 | 1,800,000.00 |
| Sub total | 6,140,000.00 | |||||
| Activity 2.1 Distribution of Sanitary Pads to selected Secondary School in Dodoma region | ||||||
| Procurement of Sanitary pads | Pts | 3,035 | 3,000 | days | 12 | 109,260,000.00 |
| Transport and logistics | BOX | 80 | 5,000 | days | 1 | 400,000.00 |
| Car Hire | pts | 1 | 300,000 | days | 6 | 1,800,000.00 |
| Hygene Education workshop | students | 5 | 100,000 | days | 6 | 3,000,000.00 |
| Meals and refreshments | Pst | 10 | 30,000 | days | 6 | 1,800,000.00 |
| Contigency | Pst | 1 | 500,000 | days | 1 | 500,000.00 |
| Media people | Pst | 5 | 50,000 | days | 6 | 1,500,000.00 |
| Facilitation fee | pts | 1 | 200,000 | days | 6 | 1,200,000.00 |
| Photer & video | pts | 2 | 200,000 | days | 6 | 2,400,000.00 |
| Facilitation transport | pts | 1 | 100,000 | days | 6 | 600,000.00 |
| Subtotal | 122,460,000.00 | |||||
| Moniotoring and Evaluation:monitoring and evaluation framework to track the distribution process’s effectiveness and impact on girls’ attendance, academic performance, and overall well-being | ||||||
| Participanta Allowance | Pts | 5 | 100,000.00 | days | 6 | 3,000,000.00 |
| Venue | venue | 1 | 200,000.00 | days | 2 | 400,000.00 |
| Stationery | Pts | 10 | 4,000.00 | days | 2 | 80,000.00 |
| Contogency | Pts | 1 | 500,000.00 | days | 1 | 500,000.00 |
| Car Hire | Pts | 1 | 300,000.00 | days | 6 | 1,800,000.00 |
| Sub-total | 5,780,000.00 | |||||
| Sub total Monitoring Activities | 134,380,000.00 | |||||
| GRAND TOTAL | 134,380,000.00 | |||||
Hence, empowering secondary school girls in Dodoma Region through pad distribution is a vital step towards promoting gender equality in education and improving girls’ overall well-being. By providing access to sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene education, we can empower girls to stay in school, achieve their academic potential, and contribute positively to their communities. This proposal outlines a strategic plan to implement this initiative effectively, but its success depends on collaborative efforts and support from all stakeholders involved.
Support girls, support mankind, at MBS we say, Kindness is the Greatest!
