…Distributes 2m sanitary pad packs to girls
…Initiative targets 100,000 learners with N20,000 grant each to tackle education barriers

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on Monday launched a N2 billion Learners Retention Support Programme for 100,000 pupils and flagged off the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels to girls in public basic education schools nationwide, in a renewed push to tackle barriers to girls’ education.

Under the first phase of the retention programme, each beneficiary is expected to receive N20,000 to help ease financial pressures that often force children from disadvantaged households out of school.

The sanitary pad distribution, alongside the provision of school bags, shoes, exercise books and other learning materials, is also aimed at ensuring that menstruation and the inability to afford basic educational supplies do not deprive girls of classroom learning.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, Mrs Tinubu said every Nigerian girl deserved the opportunity to learn, develop her potential and contribute to national development, regardless of her family’s financial circumstances.

She said girls, particularly those in rural communities, continued to face challenges that disrupted their education, including inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products.

“Keeping our girls in school requires us to recognise and address the challenges that affect their education, especially those in rural communities, who often miss school because they do not have access to sanitary products,” she said.

The initiative, known as Flow with Confidence 2.0, is being implemented by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education.

Mrs Tinubu said the programme built on the first phase launched by her Renewed Hope Initiative on October 2, 2025, which provided a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities across the country.

She welcomed the decision of the Ministry of Education, through UBEC, to institutionalise and expand the intervention, expressing confidence that the distribution of sanitary products and learning materials would help girls remain in school with dignity and confidence.

The First Lady urged state first ladies, commissioners for education and chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards to ensure that the materials reached the intended beneficiaries transparently and accountably.

She also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents and other community stakeholders to challenge the stigma associated with menstruation and encourage families to prioritise girls’ education.

Addressing the beneficiaries, Mrs Tinubu urged them to remain focused on their education and aspirations despite the challenges they might encounter.

“To our beloved girls across Nigeria, I encourage you to believe in your dreams, stay in school, work hard, speak up when you need help,” she said.

“I want you to grow into confident and courageous women ready to contribute meaningfully to our nation. Nigeria is counting on you and I believe in you.”

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government was working to make menstrual hygiene support a sustained component of its basic education interventions rather than a one-off distribution exercise.

Alausa recalled pledging to institutionalise the programme through UBEC and the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project when the First Lady launched the initial intervention a year ago.

He said UBEC would make annual budgetary provisions for the supply of sanitary towels to girls in public basic education schools, while AGILE would sustain menstrual hygiene support throughout the life of the project.

“Today, we are translating that pledge into practical action. UBEC will make provision within its annual budgets to support the supply of sanitary towels to girls in public basic education schools,” the minister said.

He added that the initial target of reaching 370,000 adolescent girls had been achieved, with the latest distribution expected to extend the intervention to more beneficiaries nationwide.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, said the initiative reflected the government’s commitment to protecting the dignity of the girl child and ensuring that menstruation did not interrupt learning.

She urged girls not to allow economic hardship or other challenges to limit their ambitions, assuring them of continued government support to improve their educational opportunities.

In her remarks, UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, said a girl’s future should not be determined by circumstances that practical interventions could address.

She illustrated the challenge with the example of a rural schoolgirl who aspired to become a teacher, doctor, engineer or lawyer but could not attend classes because her family could not afford sanitary towels.

“Sometimes, the key that unlocks that remarkable future is something as simple as a sanitary towel,” she said.

Garba disclosed that the two million packs of sanitary towels would be distributed alongside school bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematical sets and writing materials to girls in public basic education schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

She also said UBEC had constructed more than 4,000 classrooms in less than three years, distributed learning materials to over three million pupils and facilitated the return of more than 700,000 out-of-school children to classrooms.

Chairman of the UBEC Governing Board, Tanko Al-Makura, said the intervention was also intended to reduce school dropout rates and address factors that could expose girls to early marriage.

He noted that girls from low-income households were often the first to lose access to education when families encountered financial difficulties.

“Child marriage and dropping out of school are two sides of the same coin. A girl rarely leaves school on the day she is married. She leaves weeks and months before, one missed day at a time, until there is nothing left to hold her,” he said.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, represented by the Emir of Argungu, called on traditional and religious leaders, parents, teachers and community stakeholders to challenge misconceptions and harmful practices that denied children access to education.

He said menstruation should never become a barrier to learning and urged communities to support efforts to keep girls in school.

In a goodwill message, the Education Lead at the British High Commission, Ian Attfield, said investing in girls’ education produced significant economic and social benefits.

He cited estimates indicating that each additional year of schooling increased women’s earnings by an average of 12 per cent.

Attfield also disclosed that United Kingdom-supported programmes had helped more than 1.5 million additional girls gain access to schooling in northern Nigeria since 2012.

He called for sustained efforts to end child marriage, improve access to education and health services, and strengthen safeguards against gender-based violence and abuse.

The ceremony featured a stage play, Daughters of the Nation, which highlighted the history of Nigeria and the contributions of prominent women to nation-building.