A development organisation has urged government to abolish taxes on sanitary pads to make them affordable for every girl, while welcoming the existing free sanitary pad programme.
John Baidoo, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Development Focus (SUDEF) Ghana, said removing taxes would cut costs and clear barriers that still stop many girls, especially in rural and underserved communities, from managing their periods with dignity. “Government’s intervention is a step in the right direction,” he said, adding that scrapping taxes would let every girl, whatever her background, afford pads during menstruation.
He made the call at Adrobaa in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region, where SUDEF distributed sanitary pads to more than 200 schoolgirls from four schools in the Adrobaa circuit. The exercise marked this year’s World Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed under the theme “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.”
Beyond the pads, the girls received education on menstrual hygiene, personal care and self confidence, with facilitators demonstrating the proper use, removal and safe disposal of sanitary products. The sessions tackled social pressures and misconceptions, stressing that menstruation is a natural biological process rather than a disease or a curse, in a bid to break taboos that silence young girls.
Baidoo said stigma and misinformation still cause embarrassment, low self esteem and, in some cases, school absenteeism, and argued that sustained education, counselling and access to products can keep girls in class without interruption. He also appealed to government and development partners to invest in menstrual friendly facilities in schools, including clean toilets, washrooms and changing rooms, calling them vital to hygiene, privacy and confidence.
The School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator for Tano North, Georgina Valentina Asante, said many girls had previously stayed home for fear of staining uniforms or being ridiculed, or for lack of basic knowledge, and expects the intervention to improve attendance, retention and confidence. Beneficiaries Mary Yemosom and Fosua Aysha Usman, speaking for their peers, thanked SUDEF and described the support as transformative, saying it would help them attend school without fear or embarrassment.
The appeal builds on existing reforms. The government’s free sanitary pad policy, launched in April 2025 for girls from Primary Five through senior high school, is backed by a GH¢292 million allocation and now reaches close to two million schoolgirls a month. Pads were previously taxed at more than 32 percent, and while government in 2024 removed taxes on raw materials used to make pads and zero-rated VAT on locally produced ones, advocates say retail prices have not fallen accordingly, which is why calls for full tax removal continue.
