Tanzania: Safe Menstruation Restores Smile to School Girls

By Deogratius Temba

THE government's 2016 water, health and sanitation manual directs that stakeholders at various levels should be responsible for overseeing its implementation, including ensuring that the construction of

safe menstrual hygiene management in schools is productive.

The government, through the guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training, requires each council to oversee the implementation of the guidelines, including allocating a budget for each financial year on its own source to address the challenges posed by the lack of quality services.

Baseline survey on the state of School Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (SWASH) conducted by the government in 2009 in primary and secondary schools in 16 districts in Tanzania showed that water quality and sanitation in Muheza schools was low.

Only 11 per cent of the schools surveyed had met the policy requirement for the ratio of one-hole toilet to 20 girls, and one to 25 boys. More than 20 per cent of schools had a ratio of 100 students and more to one toilet. A study showed that 6 per cent of schools had no toilets at all.

The actual picture shows that in this School of Water, Health and Sanitation (SWASH) study, many schools do not have adequate water supply infrastructure, sanitation infrastructure, and no hand washing facilities at all, some of the sanitation kits are bad or broken completely.

Water, health and sanitation facilities in schools (SWASH) such as toilets, for many schools do not address the needs of girls during menstruation, young children and students with disabilities, many areas have poor attendance for girls during menstruation due to lack of facilities of safe menstruation and confidentiality during menstruation where they attend schools.

Recently, girls of Zirai Secondary School in Amani Division - Muheza District, expressed their gratitude to the stakeholders for supporting the provision of a special toilet during menstruation, access to free school pads, clean and safe toilet water, better education and upbringing provided by female teachers at the school.

Students have said that they can now read without problems due to access to safe menstrual services at school and others who do not attend school get pads during their menstruation.

Zirai Ward Education Officer Mr Mohamed Mmole, talks about the success that his Zirai ward school has achieved due to the presence of special dressing rooms for girls during menstruation as well as the availability of pads at school.

He says the school administration agreed that the issue of safe menstruation should be given priority. Despite the challenge of lack of financial resources to buy pads and other equipment, they agreed to use the small amount of student education grant (capitation) provided for school health and to purchase such equipment.

"... ... it is quite possible to effectively manage the implementation of the government guidelines for Health, Water and Sanitation 2016. Stakeholders have built toilets for us. We decided to support these stakeholders' efforts to ensure pads don't miss.

However, there is no shortage of painkillers for girls, " says Mwalimu Mmole. Mwalimu Mmole says that despite the challenge of transport infrastructure in the ward, the lack of shops near people' residences and the availability of essential health services for students increase the participation of students, especially girls in education, including increased classroom attendance.

Zirai girls' academic teacher, Rehema Matuga, explains: "We are very grateful, when we see girls happy at school, before these safe menstrual projects were introduced, the issue of menstruation for girls was not given priority, and girls used not to go to school, but now they go, even when they are in menstrual circles, and they know we will help them with equipment and the school environment is safe.

We are very grateful to TGNP and ONGAWA, our school has now become a role model." Laya Christopher, a form four student at Zirai Secondary School says that since safe menstrual services have been improved at the school and the presence of a special dressing room, there has been a dramatic change in girls' participation in the classroom.

"You will just see every girl is free, she is smiling all the time, In fact we female students at Zirai high school are very grateful because we see a safe place for us, some of us did not have pads at home, but now we have them at school, when one is in her menstrual cycle, she feels it is better to be at school because she will not be embarrassed, she will be safe and she will not be ashamed, if she goes home, she will know what to do, but the main thing at school is that one participates well in classes and she is wellgroomed," Explains Laya.

Amina Ayubu a form one girl expresses her view that she finished primary school last year, where she had never seen or heard the issue of menstruation being given priority or discussed as was at Zirai school.

"When I got here to start form one, I was very happy, I felt good to see teachers talking about menstruation and to tell us what to do when we go into menstruation, we have been helped by teachers, and pads are provided for free here. I really do not worry about menstruation, I know I'm at Zirai, I will study well and in God will, I will succeed," said Amina.

ONGAWA Programme Officer, Leonia Andrew says that the goal of her organization is to improve the environment for girls' education, and eventually increase the level of education for girls, so as to enable them complete secondary education, just like boys do.

"... We rely on our leaders who have been trained on the importance of improving safe menstruation infrastructure, water, health and sanitation, and this will ensure they pay attention. We, the stakeholders, are asking for this issue to be the will of the people here and their government, even if the projects are limited, all these things should continue for the benefit of the people of Zirai, "said Leonia. Zirai Ward Acting Executive Officer Florence Mosha says that every village should seriously take steps to implement the action plan and priorities they have agreed upon, so that they can have a ward that focuses on gender equality. "... ... Every neighbourhood should hold a session and bring back to the people these budget issues with a gender wing and put forward safe menstrual issues for girls in our schools," says Mosha.

Zirai Secondary School has more than 150 girls, who currently use 10 boxes of pads every month. These pads are usually donated by various stakeholders. Schools also buy them using capitation budget and the Zirai Information and Knowledge Centre who have been raising funds for various stakeholders.

During the gender-focused budget preparation training based on the improvement of safe menstruation infrastructure for Zirai ward leaders conducted by TGNP and ONGAWA, the chairpersons of the three villages that make up the ward, Kwalumbizi, Zirai and Kizerui, said that each village has set priorities to ensure that primary schools have safe menstrual facilities, including special menstrual rooms for students in schools.

In addition to special rooms, priority is also given to ensuring that every primary school has an incinerator to ensure that used pads are incinerated immediately after use. As part of the implementation of this government guide, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) has been collaborating with government in capacity building, where issues of safe menstruation in school are given special impetus to enable girls participate fully in studies while in their menstrual circles.

ONGAWA and Muheza District Council have also joined efforts with TGNP and government in implementing Water, Health and Sanitation (WASH) project at both household and school levels.