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Respected media professional, Funke Treasure is passionately committed to social causes, especially those affecting women and girls in Nigeria. Through her advocacy group, the Sanitary Pad Media Campaign, she has been actively involved in addressing period poverty. In this interview with BIODUN BUSARI, she highlights the challenges faced by schoolgirls and the need to promote menstrual hygiene by providing sanitary pads to girls in need, particularly in rural and underserved communities
What is the idea behind the Sanitary Pad Media Campaign?
It is about a human rights issue and the period poverty problem affects women in rural communities and urban centers. This has been ongoing for years. In some communities, girls use rags or pieces of cloth as sanitary pads.
I started this campaign with women who wanted to share their menstruation stories, with some recounting the various materials they’ve had to use.
When you visit schools, you will discover that many lack proper toilets for girls to change pads during their periods.
We know that there are statistics on dropouts and out-of-school children in Nigeria, but I can tell you that many girls are dropping out because of menstruation and period poverty, as they don’t necessary items to manage their periods.
Can you briefly highlight the objectives of the advocacy?
The Sanitary Pad Media Campaign is anchored on Goals 3, 4, and 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Let’s not forget that the very first goal of the SDGs is to end poverty.
So, we are tackling period poverty, promoting good health and well-being, quality education, and gender equality. If we are talking about menstrual equity, it falls within the scope of gender equality.
Boys don’t menstruate so they don’t face the risk of dropping out of school because of period poverty.
Our advocacy is that Nigeria should provide free, sustainable sanitary pads to its girls, and affordable ones for low-income women. By sustainable, we mean there should be a plan to ensure these girls receive them regularly, and we know that Nigeria can achieve this. We’re also advocating that sanitary pads be included in palliative packs during conflicts and crises. It may seem like a small item, but for many women, it’s not. We are also calling for the building of toilets where girls can change their pads and maintain good sanitation, which aligns with Goal 6 of the SDGs. These issues are interconnected, and our media campaign highlights these points.
You mentioned that sanitary pads should be included in palliatives. Have you informed state governments about this?
During COVID-19, we participated in some programmes where I emphasised that when discussing palliatives, we often overlook gender-specific needs.
We focus more on food and drink but forget that women menstruate every month. With the rising cost of goods, including sanitary pads, how are these girls expected to afford them, especially during conflicts and crises? It is only logical to consider women who may be menstruating while fleeing from conflict zones – they need these items. It’s time we recognised the difference between male and female needs.
What programmes have you implemented to achieve these objectives?
Our objective is to promote menstrual dignity for schoolgirls and women in low-income areas during their periods.
I’ve described scenarios where women fleeing conflicting zones are on their periods, struggling to manage their hygiene.
For some girls attending school, they face period poverty at home. There is also the issue of budgeting for pads. For instance, in a family with four girls, if each needs two pads at N1,200, that is N2,400 per girl.
Multiplying that by four girls, it’s N9,600. If the parents can’t afford it, the girls end up using wrappers.
We aim to reduce the number of out-of-school children by providing menstrual items as incentives for school girls. That’s why we established ‘Pad Scholarships’. We’ve reached several rural and urban communities in Kwara State, and are working against the discrimination of girls, including in palliative distribution. Menstrual items should be a standard provision in palliatives to women and girls. We also support the adoption of sound policies and enforceable legislation to promote gender equality. We are demanding free sanitary pads for girls in Nigeria and advocating a comprehensive sexual and reproductive rights policy, a kind of menstrual policy for Nigerian girls. This should not be difficult.
We’re calling for a policy that ensures the provision of menstrual items in schools for girls. We talk about enrolling girls, but what about retention? When they are enrolled, many drop out due to stigma and shame. Even if they don’t drop out, they may miss school during their periods. These are our broad objectives, and we have created different intervention programmes to achieve our goals.
What challenges have you faced in driving this advocacy, and how did you manage them?
Menstrual health advocacy is uniquely challenging but also difficult to sustain. It’s popular because many women privately go to schools to distribute sanitary pads to girls.
You might find someone distributing a thousand pads, giving each girl one pack, but what happens next? This made me realise that this approach wasn’t enough. So, we decided to establish a one-year Pad Scholarship for each location we visit, selecting a girl for a year.
This was how we began; changing how these interventions were traditionally done by women.
However, the biggest challenge is securing funding. We aren’t funded, so we rely on small contributions from various sources.
Initially, we struggled to gather enough support, but over time we’ve managed to support around 50 girls.
We don’t just provide sanitary pads; after administering questionnaires, we also found that some girls needed underwear.
During COVID-19, we added hand sanitisers for hygiene and beverages to help with nutrition, as some girls complained of cramps.
Despite these challenges, we’ve struggled to reach 13 states in Nigeria, collaborating with other organisations.
In summary, our biggest challenge is the difficulty in securing the financial support needed to operate on a large scale.
Let’s talk about the ‘Pad Scholarship’, how has it fared so far?
We launched the intervention in October 2021, with the goal of regularly maintaining monthly menstrual hygiene for school girls.
We aimed to encourage school enrolment and targeted secondary schools, intending to provide disposable and reusable sanitary pads for a year.
We’re now active in 13 states across Nigeria, with nearly 3,000 girls in Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Kaduna, Ogun, Kwara, Benue, Delta, Ondo, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Plateau and Taraba.
We’ve been able to expand, thanks to collaborations. In April 2022, we received support from an organisation that donated 1,000 reusable pads.
As word spread, other organisations began to support us, allowing us to expand further. We’ve always encouraged corporate organisations and individuals to support us.
Initially, we provided disposable, but we later discovered that reusable pads, which were hygienic and long-lasting, were a better alternative.
We also cater to people living with disabilities, starting with our first intervention in Ibadan, at Chesire High School, we supported 158 girls with disposable pads for a year.
We’ve since expanded to other locations in Nasarawa, Lagos and Ondo, where we’ve raised awareness about healthy living. This year, we even supported a young undergraduate at the Federal University of Technology Akure. In Ogun, we partnered the Royal Academy in Ikenne-Remo, and we also reached girls in Sagamu.
What kind of support does the advocacy need to achieve more success?
We receive occasional donations from Nigerians abroad. There are also individuals in Nigeria who send us funds, like a woman who wanted us to reach a state we had yet to visit and an organisation that helped build our website.
We’ve received contributions from individuals in the United Kingdom, and within Nigeria, sometimes as much as N100,000.
These contributions have been crucial to our efforts. I should also mention the MacArthur Foundation, which supported the production and airing of drama serials.
We’re currently airing on Radio Nigeria, with the series initially broadcast on six radio stations in five Nigerian cities. We also received individual support for last year’s essay competition.
We want people to know that we take this project seriously. For me, this is a calling, not a business.
It’s a social enterprise and we aim to ensure sustainability in the long term. This is the type of support we seek.
Wives of governors are known to support initiatives like yours. Has any of them recognised or supported your project?
I won’t mention names but we reached out to two first ladies. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any response. One is in the South-West and the other in the South-East. After that, I decided not to pursue first ladies who are more concerned with appearances than action.
Even a first lady known for her work in menstrual health didn’t respond to us. Perhaps, they prefer to take ownership of such initiatives, and if it doesn’t originate from them, they’re not interested. After that experience, I focussed on reaching out to organisations instead, and we have received support from groups like the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
This is the kind of support we are looking for. We are visible enough for any first lady to reach out to us. We have a comprehensive media campaign on mental health and advocacy for reproductive rights, including an essay competition, drama series, pad scholarship, and a podcast. We’ve been consistent for four years, building friendships across many states. Our essay competition winners have come from Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and Lagos states.
We’re present on social media platforms and we have a website. MultiChoice provided us with two platforms on Africa Magic through DStv and GOtv. We’re on Flash FM in Ibadan, Bond FM in Lagos, and my friend, Kadaria Ahmed gave us to run it free on her radio station, among others.
So, how can you miss us in all this? Any first lady who is serious will look out for us.
Are you stressing that the advocacy has gotten support from organisations and individuals?
Yes, I can say that. The reason I said so was that for instance, Diatom Impact gave us 2,000 units of reusable pads. Radio Nigeria supported our drama serial, My Period My Pride with air time for nationwide coverage. Multichoice supported our video podcast with air time across sub-Saharan Africa. There are other organisations like the Girl Force Movement, Rescue Nigeria, the National Museum and Monuments in Lagos and Ibadan, Nordica Fertility Centre, Nigerian Society of Engineers, MacArthur Foundation, Radio Now, Omolayo Arts Gallery, and scores of individuals who have adopted girls on our pad scholarship for school girls and low income women. Also, African Independent Television, PlusTVAfrica, and the Guardian Newspaper, Nigeria have offered tremendous support.
How has this project addressed the level of education and reading culture among girls?
They’ve been able to tell their stories through the essay competition. We want to publish these stories. They read and write, and if we secure enough funds, we want to turn their stories into literature for people to read and inform our legislators on the kind of laws they should make to support these girls.
This is often overlooked but is significant. There has been little of real significance that the Nigerian child benefitted from the government.
However, we can effect change through this advocacy. Nigeria has the resources to ensure that every girl in secondary school receives two packs of sanitary pads. Thanks to local government autonomy; this is an area the local government areas can address.
Each state could have a cottage industry producing sanitary pads for the schools, making them accessible to girls and included as part of the State Universal Basic Education Board’s provisions for schools.
When they supply books, pens, rulers, sanitary pads should also be provided for girls.
Furthermore, just as Lagos State has done, other states should begin to teach girls about menstrual hygiene in schools.
There is no given birth without menstruation, so girls should not be ashamed of it.
What significant contribution has the advocacy made in sub-Saharan Africa?
Recently, someone reached out to us from Ghana. We also had someone write to us from Uganda. Even before we started the video podcast on Africa Magic, which means it reached the whole of sub-Sahara Africa, we had already attracted viewers from Cameroon, Liberia, and Ghana.
People have been reaching out to us even before that podcast. This indicates that it is a universal problem, and Africa is calling us because it is a fundamental challenge for the continent.
The man from Ghana listed the names of schools he wanted me to visit. He said he would be volunteering for us. I told him we had friends in Ghana and that we would collaborate with them and connect with him.
Have you been recognised for this huge project by any individual or organisation?
I want to appreciate those who have given me awards in the course of this work. I firstly like to appreciate The Girl Force Movement which gave me The SEEN. HEARD. ENGAGED. RESOURCEFUL and OPEN-MINDED (S.H.E.R.O) award in 2022.
It is an award given to a Girl Force Movement member making significant contributions to the lives of the girl child in her local community and actively contributing to the Girl Force Movement Community.
Then in October 2023, the parent organisation of the Sanitary Pad Media Campaign received the finalist plaque in the non-profit Investing in Young Women category of the Gender Mainstreaming Award 2023, West Africa Edition. These awards are huge for me. One for me and one for the organisation.
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