LIBERIA NEWS: PHI L ENDS TWO-DAY MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES W/SHOP

Monrovia-8 The Public Health Initiative of Liberia has concluded a two-day intensive Menstrual Hygiene Management Guidelines aimed at finalizing validated menstruation in women and girls.

Speaking at the two-day event, the Executive Director of Public Health Initiative of Liberia, Ms. Joyce Kilibo highlighted that the two-day event was meant to finalize the validated Menstrual Hygiene Management of draft guidelines for onward submission to government and partners for implementation.

According to Madam Kilibo, the Menstrual Hygiene Management reveals that women and girls face significant challenges in managing their menstruation as well as cultural taboos and myths surrounding menstruation, particularly in the rural areas, perpetuate shame and secrecy which prevents many women and girls the right to crucial information.

She furthered that inadequate access to menstrual products, services, and sanitation facilities have imposed significant barriers to managing menstruation safely and with dignity and negatively impacted girls’ education.

Public Health Initiative Executive Director disclosed that the project is funded by WaterAid Liberia and Global Affairs Canada for the Sexual and Reproductive project for the development of national MHM guidelines towards the development of comprehensive and evidence-based guidelines on menstrual hygiene management that can be used by individual, community, and organizations to improve menstrual hygiene management in a more coordinated way across Liberia.

For her part, the Integrated Watch Officer at WaterAid, Madam Lusu Gibson acknowledged that the Ministry of Health, WaterAid, and the Public Initiative have collaborated extensively to develop this much-needed guideline to address the educational sector’s challenges.

The Menstrual Hygiene Management is a validation session of the draft guidelines for Liberia held in collaboration with the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Health with funding from WaterAid Liberia.

Subsequently, there is a lack of policy support and funding for menstrual hygiene management in Liberia as well as a lack of coordination mechanisms and guidelines for menstrual Hygiene.

Public Health Initiative Liberia (PHIL) is a non-governmental organization registered in Liberia with a mission to promote and enhance Liberia’s quality of health care delivery through leadership, partnership, innovation, and capacity building.

It is a community-based health services delivery (covering maternal, Newborn, and Child health issues), Accountability in Health Care, Advocacy and Research, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Water Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion. PHIL’s integrated community-based health services delivery is geared

towards supporting the delivery of quality health services at the primary health care level by building capacities of various community structures including community health workers and strengthening local community networks to improve uptake of health care services, increase health knowledge, prevent disease, and promote health and social behavior change.

Meanwhile, the two-day validation event which started Monday, February 5, and climaxed Tuesday, February 6, 2024, was held in Grand Bassa County and brought together several key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, Education,

Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Civil Society Organizations including others from the public and private sectors across the country participated in the event.