The ECOWAS Resident Representation in Benin has donated 5,000 reusable menstrual hygiene kits to secondary school girls as part of a regional effort to promote menstrual health and empower young girls. The handover ceremony, held on June 27, 2025, took place in Zè, Benin, under the regional initiative titled “Support for Benin’s Initiatives to Raise Awareness Among Young Girls on Good Personal and Menstrual Hygiene Practices and for the Promotion of ECOWAS Among Young People.”
The initiative is funded by the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and aligns with ECOWAS Vision 2050, which centres on human dignity, equality, and social justice.
Representing the ECOWAS Resident Representative, Mr. Mamadou Konate emphasized the importance of menstrual hygiene as a fundamental issue of health, dignity, and gender equality. “Menstrual hygiene is a matter of dignity, health and social justice. Under no circumstance should it ever be a barrier to schooling or to young girls’ self-esteem,” he said.
Locally produced, the menstrual kits will be fairly distributed by the Guichets Uniques de Protection Sociale (GUPS) of Zè and Djidja in coordination with the respective Departmental Social Affairs structures. The official handover was made to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance, represented by the Atlantic Departmental Director of Social Affairs, who then delegated the kits to 23 identified secondary schools across the Atlantic and Zou Departments.
The event also featured awareness sessions for students, teachers, and school administrators, focusing on menstrual health education and ECOWAS values. A symbolic handover of kits to a group of girls concluded the ceremony, followed by a photo session and media interviews.
A student representative described the donation as “a life-changing gesture” and urged her peers to “never give up on their dreams,” expressing deep gratitude on behalf of the beneficiaries.
