Mrs. Gifty Nyarko Karikari, the Chief Executive Officer of the G2 Foundation, a non-government organisation, has called on the government to prioritise menstrual health and hygiene to improve the general wellbeing of girls. The foundation works to improve health, education and socio-economic livelihoods of vulnerable people in society. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mrs. Karikari said prioritizing and investing much in menstrual health and hygiene would empower girls and make them confident in managing themselves during menstruation. That would contribute a lot towards improving the personal hygiene of girls and building their confidence in society. Mrs. Karikari expressed worry that many girls could not afford to buy or access menstrual health products because of the high cost of those products, and therefore opted for the alternatives of using rags and other unhygienic materials during menstruation. There is also a need to intensify awareness creation to tackle challenges of stigmati zation and discrimination of girls during menstruation periods. 'Menstruation should drop girls out of school,' Mrs. Karikari stated, and called for a comprehensive menstrual health and hygiene education in schools and at community levels. She said policy gaps also ought to be reviewed and addressed to remove barriers and bottlenecks in combating stigma and discrimination. Empowering girls to manage their menstrual health would contribute to reducing stigma and discrimination and promote healthier attitudes too, Mrs. Karikari said. Source: Ghana News Agency