BUSIA, Kenya Oct 7 – Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo has slammed the Ministry of Gender, for failing to provide adequate sanitary pads to schoolgirls, especially those from poor backgrounds.
Speaking at Kwang’amor Secondary School during the Senate Mashinani sessions, Omanyo revealed that girls in Busia have received only six sanitary pads in the last three years — despite menstruation being a monthly reality.
“Gender CS Hanna Cheptumo, where are the school pads, our students are suffering immensely here in the villages,” said Omanyo.
She questioned whether the ministry would take responsibility for the lost learning time of girls forced to skip school due to lack of menstrual products.
“The rate of absenteeism among school girls in Busia is high for one simple reason, they are on period. How are will going to compete favorably with girls from prestigious schools,” she added.
This comes even as the 2024/2025 Auditor General’s report shows that over 13 million girls were said to have benefited from the free sanitary pad program, jointly managed by the Ministries of Education and Gender, with a budget of Sh3.7 billion.
However a survey in most schools according to Omanyo has revealed that most school principals were lamenting over delayed distribution of the pads in most schools across the country.
The concern comes amid the rising cases of Teenage pregnancies and new HIV infection in Busia.
“We as the Women’s Representatives in Kenya have been advocating for and distributing sanitary pads to schoolgirls, sometimes by requesting more direct involvement in the national procurement and distribution process, and other times by launching their own local initiatives,” said Omanyo.
Their demands stem from concerns over “period poverty” and its negative impact on girls’ education, with advocates citing high rates of absenteeism and even transactional sex due to lack of access to menstrual hygiene products.
According to data from the National Aids Control Council, Busia recorded 135 new HIV infections among youths aged between 10-19 in 2024 up from 120 in 2019. This statistrics is largely attributed to the high poverty index which exposes more girls into being lured into sex for pad.
“28% of school girls in Busia are either pregnant or teenage mothers in school uniform. This is a worrying trend that needs national intervention and that is why I am asking where pads are,” Omanyo added.
