President John Dramani Mahama has announced that his government has allocated over GHC 290 million for the distribution of free sanitary pads to schoolgirls across the country.
According to him, the initiative aims to promote menstrual health and improve school attendance among girls, ensuring they do not miss classes due to a lack of access to sanitary products.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of deputy ministers at the Presidency on 12th March, 2025, President Mahama stated that his government has not left out the vulnerable in various communities.
He emphasized that this initiative is a crucial step toward ending one of the most challenging issues in the education system, where young girls miss school because they cannot afford sanitary towels.
President Mahama reiterated that his administration has made over GHC 290 million available for the distribution of sanitary towels to all schoolgirls.
He further explained that similar attention has been given to persons with disabilities, whose academic fees at the tertiary level have been fully absorbed by the government.
Addressing critics of the policy, Mahama firmly stated that the government’s commitment is evident in the budget statement.
“We’ve also proven through the budget statement that ‘review’ does not mean ‘cancel.’ Once and for all, for those who don’t understand English, ‘review’ does not mean ‘cancel,” he declared.
The President of Ghana John Mahama further stated that they have finally found a remedy for the long-standing problem of the lack of dedicated funds for free SHS.
He explained that by uncapping the GETFund, they have freed resources to underwrite the single largest allocation to the free SHS program GHC 3.5 billion since the program started in 2017.
