Auleria Wakudumo
Prime Minister and High-Level Gender Advisory Committee chairperson Elijah Ngurare said he wants the government to make a provision for sanitary products in the budget.
Ngurare said he will propose a N$5 million allocation in the mid-term budget to combat period poverty in Namibia.
He expanded that the proposed N$5 million would be considered to support further interventions aimed at improving access to menstrual products.
Period poverty refers to the inability to afford and access adequate menstrual products and safe sanitation facilities.
The challenge can affect girls’ dignity, well-being and ability to participate fully in their education.
The funding would strengthen access to sanitary products for schoolgirls, particularly those from disadvantaged communities, ensuring that menstruation does not undermine their dignity and education.
The proposal forms part of efforts to combat period poverty in Namibia and ensure that girls are not disadvantaged in their education because they cannot afford essential menstrual products.
PM revealed this while delivering opening remarks at the 9th High-Level Gender Advisory Committee Meeting in Windhoek.
Ngurare emphasised the need for sustained interventions to ensure that every girl, regardless of her family’s financial circumstances, can access sanitary products.
“There must be a common denominator of advancing human values, advancing human dignity and advancing human rights. Whether you are rich or you are poor, you are a human being,” he said.
He further stressed that the cost of providing sanitary products should not stand in the way of protecting human dignity. “And we have therefore no option but to make sure that we do that,” Ngurare said.
The proposed N$5 million allocation builds on the Dawn of Dignity initiative, launched in October last year at Don Bosco Primary School in the //Kharas region.
A total of 41 700 sanitary pads were distributed across all 14 regions at a cost of approximately N$500 000 through the initiative.
The distribution was aimed at improving access to sanitary products for schoolgirls, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.
Ngurare highlighted that the initiative demonstrated the reach of a nationwide intervention, while the proposed allocation signals the need to strengthen and sustain efforts to address period poverty. Access to sanitary products is essential to ensuring that menstruation does not become an additional barrier to girls’ education.
PM urged government stakeholders to consider a more sustained response to these challenges.
He said the proposal is centred on the principle that a girl’s access to basic menstrual products should not depend on her family’s income.
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