Reproductive Health: Actress drums campaign for adolescents

Ace Nollywood actress and humanitarian, Tonto Dikeh, has called for sensitisation of young persons, especially females students, on how to manage their reproductive health and hygiene.

The thespian and President of Tonto Dikeh Foundation (TDF) made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

She noted that since many teenage girls were not well enlightened on how their body works, they remained ignorant and even fallen prey to tendencies that endanger their lives.

“The task of guiding the girl child, especially on sensitive things about womanhood belongs to those they look up to either as parents, teachers or role models.

“For example, there are a lot of myths which tend to suggest that menstruation is a disease or a curse, and presents a woman’s body as polluted when she is experiencing periods.

“Such beliefs and myths have caused discrimination against women and at times, can lower their self-esteem and opportunities for growth.

“Many of such beliefs have been proven wrong by medical science, but they are still believed in most current societies, and therefore the need for enlightenment,’’ she said.

She explained that her foundation would take awareness on reproductive health and hygiene to selected schools in the Federal Capital Territory as part of its support and intervention initiative for young girls.

“We are set to visit female schools, and even prisons, in commemoration of the Global Menstrual Hygiene Day to educate them on the importance of hygiene, especially menstrual hygiene.

“Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day which comes up on May 28 to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management.

“Beside the enlightenment campaign, the foundation intends to aid women and girls with free sanitary towels,” Dikeh said.

She explained that volunteer medical experts and counselors would be engaged in the advocacy programme being packaged by TDF.