The Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Emma Kantema-Gaomas said the lack of sanitary pads for girls at schools contributes to school dropouts and thus schools and political leaderships should look at the issue holistically.

Gaomas made the statement here on Monday when she donated school items such as books, pens, files and sanitary pads in her personal capacity to the Kayengona Combined School in the Kavango East Region.

Kantema-Gaomas said according to data collected by the Namibia Coalition for Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management, 18 per cent of the female learners are missing four to five days of school per month due to a lack of access to sanitary pads.

“The Namibian school calendar has approximately 195 school days per year, meaning the learners miss out on 45 school days, which is too much,” she said.

The deputy minister emphasised that such issues should be taught during Life Skills classes before stating that these periods should not be utilised as lessons where the learners are just free and not taught any life lessons.

The principal of the school, Anna Mateya, said the donations will positively impact the implementation of the curriculum of basic education.

“Our school has 530 learners from pre-primary to Grade 9 and the majority of these learners are vulnerable, with a significant number of orphans,”

she added.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency