Oluremi Tinubu Launches Nationwide Distribution of 370,000 Sanitary Pads To Tackle Period Poverty
The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has launched an all-year-round distribution of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities across the country under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI). The programme, titled “Flow With Confidence,” is aimed at boosting girls’ confidence, promoting menstrual hygiene, and reducing school absenteeism linked to period poverty.
The initiative has kicked off in several states, with the latest outreach held at the Dome Event Centre in Akure, Ondo State, where hundreds of schoolgirls gathered to receive sanitary pad packs.
Represented by the wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa, Senator Tinubu said 10,000 packs would be distributed to each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory through state First Ladies and RHI coordinators. She urged beneficiaries to use the pads as intended and not to sell them.
“We chose disposable sanitary pads because they offer a simple, hygienic option with better health benefits for a woman’s reproductive well-being. For us at the Renewed Hope Initiative, we believe no girl should ever have to choose between her dignity and her education,” she said.
She also charged local government chairmen to take ownership of the programme, expand its reach, and ensure that supplies get directly to girls in rural communities.
Expressing concern over the menstrual hygiene challenges faced by girls in underserved areas, the First Lady said many resort to unsafe alternatives or skip school altogether due to their inability to afford sanitary pads, adding “This trend must end. This intervention under the Education Framework of the Renewed Hope Initiative is aimed at doing just that”.
In her opening remarks, the Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr. Oluwaseun Osamaye, applauded Senator Tinubu for prioritising menstrual health, saying “The symbolic distribution of 370,000 sanitary pads across the 36 states and the FCT is not merely an act of generosity; it is a bold national declaration that menstrual health is a right, not a privilege”.
Osamaye noted that the initiative aligns with Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s “Our Ease” mandate, which prioritises inclusive governance and human capital development. She added that period poverty has long hindered the academic participation and well-being of girls.
“Just recently, under our ‘Tech-A-Girl, Pad-A-Girl Child’ initiative to mark the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child, the Ondo State Government donated 5,000 sanitary pads to secondary school girls. Today again, we collectively declare that the obstacles of period poverty must give way to access, awareness, and dignity,” she said.
