Period Poverty: Benue IDPs Get Sanitary Pad Donation Following HumAngle Report
Female IDPs in Benue State, North-central Nigeria, who struggle with period poverty, have received an impactful donation of sanitary pads following HumAngle’s report. But they need more to ensure better menstrual hygiene.
Female Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State, North-central Nigeria, who suffer large scale period poverty, have received sanitary pads donations following a report by HumAngle.
A group of Nigerian professionals in the United States, moved by the plight of the women and girls, made a substantial cash donation to purchase sanitary pads and other aid materials for the IDPs.
In Nov. 2021, HumAngle had reported that the women at Tse Yandev IDP camp, Benue state, need at least ₦13 million monthly to buy sanitary products for hygienic menstrual periods. The report also highlighted the dilemma they faced as their period poverty is heightened by their lack of basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and safety.
Since 2013, attacks by criminal herders and farmers over land and grazing areas have escalated in Benue. The state has an economy driven by agriculture, and in the wake of the conflict, many of these farmers have been displaced from their hometowns, where they controlled large farmlands.
Most of these people are assembled in a makeshift shelter along the North Bank area in Makurdi, the state capital. In the camp, women have to improvise monthly, using rags and large leaves in extreme cases to hold blood during their monthly periods.
The sanitary pad donation was received with gratitude and has gone a long way in helping many of them with their current menstrual hygiene needs. However, the donations are not enough given the magnitude of period poverty in the camp.
According to data made available by the camp officials, in Tse Yandev camp, there are about 6,501 women and girls between the ages of 10 and 35+, the age range for active menstruation.
The above cost for periods per woman, when multiplied by this population, rounds up to ₦13,002,000 monthly. A camp that lacks basic housing and food for displaced people is most unlikely to have access to this much for periods. While the new donations have impacted, the women need more sanitary products for better menstrual hygiene.
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