The outreach, themed \u201cShe Matters,\u201d<\/em> was organized by the Queen Jennifer Ephraim Foundation in partnership with the Tonto Dikeh Foundation. Held at Government Junior Secondary School, Dutse Sagwari, the event formed part of the \u201cPad-A-Girl\u201d initiative aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene and dignity for schoolgirls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dikeh, a longtime advocate for women\u2019s and children\u2019s rights, taught students how to use and properly dispose of sanitary pads while urging them to maintain confidence and hygiene during their menstrual cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMenstruation is not a curse; it\u2019s a sign of womanhood,\u201d Dikeh told the crowd of young girls. \u201cWe must educate ourselves, speak openly, and never allow shame or stigma to silence us”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event included interactive discussions on menstrual health, the importance of clean water and sanitation, and breaking cultural taboos surrounding menstruation. Hundreds of sanitary kits were distributed to the students, many of whom said it was their first time receiving such support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents who attended the program praised the actress and her foundation for addressing what they described as a \u201csilent struggle\u201d in many homes. \u201cOur daughters miss school because they don\u2019t have pads or feel embarrassed,\u201d said Fatima Ibrahim, a mother of three. \u201cThis outreach is giving them confidence and knowledge we couldn\u2019t always provide at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Government representatives also commended the initiative. Dr. Grace John, director of Gender and Child Development at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, said Dikeh\u2019s campaign complements national efforts to end \u201cperiod poverty\u201d across Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe government recognizes menstrual health as a key part of gender equality and education,\u201d John said. \u201cWe are expanding access to sanitary products in schools and rural communities, but we need more partnerships like this one to reach every girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local officials in Abuja\u2019s Bwari Area Council, where the school is located, promised to introduce similar awareness programs across other public schools. \u201cThis is not just about health \u2014 it\u2019s about dignity,\u201d said Council Secretary Musa Bello. \u201cWhen girls are informed and equipped, they stay in school and dream bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Health advocates say menstrual hygiene remains a pressing public health concern in Nigeria, where millions of girls lack affordable sanitary pads and adequate facilities. According to UNICEF, one in ten school-age girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during menstruation due to these barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Representatives from Miss Health Africa, one of the partner organizations, stressed that men and boys must also be part of the conversation. \u201cWe need fathers, brothers, and teachers to understand menstruation so they can support girls, not shame them,\u201d said founder Jennifer Ephraim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers at the Dutse Sagwari school said the outreach helped dispel myths and fear among students. \u201cThe girls asked questions they\u2019ve never asked before,\u201d said principal Hauwa Lawal. \u201cThey left the program smiling and informed \u2014 that\u2019s the real victory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dikeh\u2019s foundation said it will continue to expand its menstrual hygiene education programs nationwide and called on corporate sponsors to support free pad distribution in rural schools. \u201cEmpowering girls means empowering the future,\u201d the foundation said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The campaign closed with a pledge from participants and officials to make menstrual health education a regular part of school curricula in the Federal Capital Territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigerian actress and philanthropist Tonto Dikeh led a menstrual hygiene awareness campaign in the capital over the weekend, calling for stronger education, government support, and public acceptance around menstrual health. The outreach, themed \u201cShe Matters,\u201d was organized by the Queen Jennifer Ephraim Foundation in partnership with the Tonto Dikeh Foundation. Held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,20,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-health-fitness","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Tonto-Dikeh.jpg?fit=640%2C377&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22232"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22236,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22232\/revisions\/22236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/19608249_img20251025wa0204_jpeg6d260b11f8e3a26c62c393ecac3b7e675843048014821604420.jpeg?resize=696%2C696\")
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