Mataheko D/A Basic School lacks toilet facilities

Ms Eunice Hededzi, Vice President of Mataheko Achievers Club, says Mataheko D/A Basic School in the Ningo-Prampram District lacks toilet facilities as and that the only one available had been taken over by the community.

She pleaded with the government and non-governmental organizations to come to their aid and provide them with ultramodern toilet facilities in the school for comfort and to put an end to open defecating in the area.

Ms Hededzi stated at public education organised by the Ghana Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) in collaboration with Kings Hall Media Limited.

The event formed part of the World Water Day celebration at Mataheko D/A Basic Schools in the Ningo-Prampram District on the theme: “Accelerating Change to End Period Poverty,” which raised awareness for menstrual hygiene management in relation to water and sanitation.

Ms Hededzi noted the lack of toilet facilities had indirectly affected the performance of the children, exposed them to reptiles in the bush and affected their menstrual hygrine.

She called on stakeholders, including the community leaders, the district assembly and other corporate bodies within the Ningo-Prampram District to assist construct a modern toilet facility for the school.

Contributing to the discussion, Ms. Neriah Tettey, Sanitation Ambassador and Formal Child Sanitation Diplomat for Kings Hall Media Limited, expressed concern about the sanitation, and health circumstances in Ghana include menstrual hygiene.

“In Ghana, sanitary pads have become expensive due to taxes imposed on them, and as a result, most adolescent girls, particularly in rural areas, resort to using unsanitary materials that are prone to diseases and infections,” she said.

Ms Tettey emphasised that some schools did not have toilet facilities or changing rooms for female students, making it difficult for students to remain in school during periodic flow.

She asked the government to remove taxes on sanitary pads because they were an important item for every adolescent female child during menstruation to prevent the use of unsanitary materials such as clothes and tissues.

Furthermore, the government should provide ultramodern toilet facilities with running water to make hand washing simpler after and before changing used pads, particularly in schools that lacked it.