BY BONAKELE MABUZA
MBABANE – The Ministry of Health hosted the Menstrual Health Management Day on Wednesday (June 5, 2024) at Coronation Park in Mbabane.
The event was attended by Mbabane West schools including SOS, Woodlands, Saim and Mangwaneni. Mbabane West is represented in Parliament by MP Jane Mkhonta-Simelane, who is also the Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs. She had also attended the event.
The mandate of celebrating this event was to address issues faced by girls during menstruation. Organisations that attended included President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Worlds Vision, Coordinating Assembly NGO’s (CANGO), UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Population Eswatini Service International (PSI), AHF Eswatini and B.A.W.S.S.
Dumsile Masuku-Nxumalo, representing director of Guidance and Counselling in the Ministry of Education, stated that girls faced various challenges during menstruation and some dropped out due to pregnancy. She further elaborated that about six percent of girls did not participate in social activities when they were menstruating.
The SADC initiative, which focused on prioritising educational rights of children, was established to address all these concerns. “Incaba is a SADC initiative, whose goal is to realise the educational rights of all children through schools becoming inclusive sectors of learning, care and support,” Masuku-Nxumalo said.
Speaking during Mkhonta-Simelane said girls should not be discriminated when they were on menstruation. “On this day, we are raising awareness that there has to be no discrimination when a girl is menstruating,” said Mkhonta-Simelane.
She further indicated that some cultures believed that a girl was dirty when menstruating and denied to do some activities. The Georgetown University Country Director Dr Samson Haumba said they strived to make Menstrual Health Management (MHM) products accessible to girls. Kids who participated in the event were gifted with toiletries.
