The Federal Government and relevant authorities have been urged to integrate menstrual health into the school curriculum, especially in primary schools across the country.

Health experts, university dons, and a girl-child advocate made the call in Port Harcourt at the weekend during the unveiling of a book titled Periods, Pads and Proud, specifically designed to help the girl child learn about her menstrual cycle, understand her body, and bust the myths surrounding periods.

The experts, including Professor Kaladada Korubo, a Professor of Haematology in the College of Medical Science, Rivers State University; the Director, Quality Assurance, Rivers State Ministry of Education, Dr. Chinedu Nwaodu; and the book author and founder of EmpowerHer Project, Elizabeth Aderonke Odukoya, decried the low awareness of menstrual health, especially among school girls, lamenting that the gap has created low self-esteem, stigmatisation, shame, and lack of confidence.

The experts highlighted that early awareness of the menstrual cycle is crucial because it aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasising that educating girls on it before they start menstruating will build their confidence, reduce their shyness, and even curb period poverty.

They also noted that early awareness is necessary because some girls, even at age eight to nine, see their menstruation, adding that sensitization is apt for males because, according to them, if males know what girls and women go through during menstruation, it will go a long way in reducing the stigma.

The author and founder of the group, Odukoya, said she was spurred to write the book due to concerns and noticeable gaps in sensitization.

She said the group, backed by a growing network of 60 passionate volunteers from students and medical professionals, has embarked on advocacy across schools on the importance of menstrual health.

She said that the group is also working with schools and local authorities to integrate menstrual health into school curriculums and is advocating for a future where no girl will miss school, feel ashamed, or lack the resources required to get pads to manage her period.

She pointed out that the group has reached out to more than 3,000 girls across 11 schools and communities in Nigeria, delivering interactive health talks, distributing over 3,000 free menstrual products, and promoting sustainable, reusable sanitary pads as a long-term and eco-friendly solution.

She said, “Our work goes beyond product distribution. We break the silence and stigma around menstruation through open and practical education. We empower girls with knowledge and confidence to manage their periods safely and with dignity, while also engaging teachers, parents, and communities to challenge harmful myths and taboos.”

The Director, Quality Assurance, Rivers State Ministry of Education, Dr. Chinedu Nwaodu, urged young girls, parents, and teachers to take menstrual health seriously.

Dr. Nwaodu said all the secondary schools in Rivers State are equipped with relevant facilities to educate girl children about menstrual health.

She urged both teachers and parents to educate the girl child on the importance of menstrual health.

“So it depends on the teachers if they carry it out, if they teach this topic very well. And I’m not talking only about our teachers; I am also talking about our parents, you mothers, you fathers—what do you know about menstrual health? One of our Directors told me that when her daughter first saw her period, instead of telling her mother, the girl went to the father to tell him, and it was the father who informed the mother about that.

“Even some of us as mothers are not doing what we are supposed to do. As for the schools, it’s there in the curriculum, it’s there in the scheme of work. So I implore the Principals, the Principal Junior Secondary, Principal Senior Secondary, to work on your teachers, monitor them, enter their classrooms to see what they are doing to see if they are actually teaching what they are supposed to teach.

“You have to do your own part. I have also spoken to the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS). I have told him about the book to see what to do about that. We are also going to talk to the private school owners to see how we are going to get these books into the private schools. I implore the girl child to be proud of yourselves, stand tall anywhere you are, menstrual period is natural, it’s very, very natural,” she said.

Reviewing the book, Professor Kaladada Korubo, a Professor of Haematology in the College of Medical Science, Rivers State University, said the book throws more light on what the female genital system is all about and talks about what menses and period actually mean.

She noted that the book explained what menarche is all about, saying that menarche is the very first time a girl has her period.

“So the advantage is that knowledge is power. So for that little girl who doesn’t know anything about menses, having read this book, that little girl is going to know it all. Some of us as mothers have never even discussed menses, period, with our girl child. We just wait until we start observing the child when the child is about 9 or 10 years,” she said.