NATIONAL Diagnostic Laboratory (Diagnolab) last week donated 100 000 loose sanitary pads to the office of the president.
Diagnolab chief executive Hambeleleni Matsi said the girl child should be given an equal opportunity to education.
“We believe that in this day and age, no single girl should miss school because of lack of sanitary pads or access to menstrual hygiene,” she said, adding that this is what motivated Diagnolab to donate.
According to Matsi, the government, communities and families must support the girl child in managing menstruation.
“In some cultures of Namibia, menstruation remains a taboo and is often associated with uncleanliness and shame,” she said.
As a result, women and girls are forced into seclusion during menstruation, she added.
There is a need to develop policies and interventions to break down cultural, social, economic and other barriers that deny Namibian women, especially young girls, access to these services, she said.