Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has donated 10,000 sanitary pads to schoolgirls in Oyo State. The donation is part of her larger national program to fight period poverty, a problem that keeps millions of girls from regularly attending school .
The distribution event was held in Ibadan, the state capital. The wife of the Oyo State governor, Tamunomini Makinde, represented Mrs. Tinubu. She told the gathering that it is unacceptable for girls to miss school because they cannot afford basic sanitary products . “Some of our girls are using unsafe and unhygienic alternatives,” she said. “Others stay at home, falling behind in their studies” .
This effort in Oyo State is a single part of a major national campaign named “Flow with Confidence.” The program is run under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Mrs. Tinubu’s humanitarian project. The goal is to distribute 370,000 free sanitary pads to students across all of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Every state will receive 10,000 packs of disposable sanitary pads . The First Lady warned that the pads are not to be sold and should go directly to deserving girls, especially those in rural communities .
The RHI spent over 2.5 billion naira to buy the custom-made pads from a local manufacturer. Officials said this large investment shows a commitment to keeping girls in school . In Oyo State, the pads will be distributed across all 33 local government areas . Similar handovers have already taken place in other states, including Niger, Osun, Anambra, and Zamfara .
The “Flow with Confidence” program tackles a widespread issue in Nigeria known as period poverty. This is when women and girls lack access to safe menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and reliable health information . A recent report estimates that 37 million Nigerian women and girls suffer from this problem . When girls cannot afford pads, they often resort to using rags, old newspapers, or pieces of cloth. These unhygienic alternatives can lead to health infections and cause great emotional distress .
The impact on education is severe. The World Bank says 24% of Nigerian schoolgirls miss school because of their menstruation . This consistent disruption leads to academic setbacks and increases the risk of them dropping out entirely. In some parts of northern Nigeria, a girl's first period can even signal that she is ready for marriage, ending her education .
The Nigerian government has tried to address this before. In 2020, it removed the value-added tax (VAT) on locally produced sanitary pads. However, this move has done little to lower the retail price for most girls and women. Broader supply chain costs and other tariffs have kept prices high . A single pack of pads can now cost between 500 and 750 naira. For many families, this is too expensive .
Because of this, many community and international groups are stepping in. They are working to fill the gap left by the lack of a comprehensive national menstrual health policy . For example, the Pad a Queen Initiative in Ibadan provides reusable sanitary pads. Their work has led to a 97% reduction in school absenteeism among the girls they help . In Borno State, the organization ZEGCAWIS runs a #FreePadsForGirls campaign. Its founder, Aishatu Kabu, notes that girls who stay in school often miss up to 20% of the school year due to their periods, making it hard for them to compete with boys .
Mrs. Tinubu’s “Flow with Confidence” program is one of the largest government-led efforts to date. It shows a growing recognition of menstrual health as a public issue. As the First Lady stated, the belief is that no girl should ever have to choose between her dignity and her education .