Steem Cameroon Contest - International Day of Menstrual Hygiene (Cameroon)

Introduction
The International day of menstrual hygiene is celebrated every year on the 28th of May. It is commemorated to celebrate menstruation and to teach girls and women about safe hygiene practices during menstruation. It is a day both the International,national and civil society organizations amongst others sensitize communities on the importance of menstruation and menstrual hygiene and equally distribute sanitary pads.

Body
The date 28 May was strategically picked by the United Nations Population Fund which is the UN sexual and reproductive health agency. 28th was chosen because the average period cycle is 28days and it is celebrated every May which is the fifth month due to the fact that the average number of days for menstruation is five days.
In Cameroon, the International Day of Menstruation is actively engaged by the government through the Ministry of Women's Empowerment, teachers, Radio stations, women's groups like Njangis, Civil Society organizations, just to name a few. So many educational programs on the theme of menstruation are held not only for women and girls but in recent times, for boys and men as well.
This year my organization which is a Non-governmental Organization working with women and girls was so excited about the International day of menstruation which was tagged "Creating a World where no girl or woman is held back because they menstruate by 2030". We went to a couple or primary and secondary schools in our area, and educated them about menstruation. Teaching both girls and boys that menstruation is normal and people who are menstruating should not be shamed or stigmatized. We taught them that menstruation is natural and should be celebrated. One of the strategies we used this year was that we brought in a he4she to talk to the children, creating an atmosphere for them to be comfortable and free to accept that "oh, men know about this so i shouldn't be ashamed". After the sensitization on menstrual hygiene, we distributed pads to the girls and created a WhatsApp group as requested by the girls where we can handle some of their menstruation related questions. We equally had a radio talk on the subject menstruation on the Crtv radio station where we tried to reach out to a larger audience.

Challenges
•A major challenge we faced was that, due to time, we could not reach out to as many schools as we intended. This was because we spent so much time in the few schools we went to as a result of the fact that, the students and pupils had so many questions pertaining to the subject. Most of them were blank on the issue and the rest had so many concerns.
• Another challenge we faced was limited funds to get more sanitary pads for more girls and also, the fact that we could only get the use and throw sanitary pads. With period poverty which is the inability to afford sanitary pads, people are advised to get reusable pads which can be used over and over for like 6months and more. We distributed the use and throw pads which can only be of help for a single month and for those with heavy flow, it might not even be enough.

Recommendation.

• It would be of great help to the community, for the government to do more with regards to the celebration of the International Day of Menstrual Hygiene. We discovered so many girls in villages are ignorant about menstruation. Men, boys and other girls mock and stigmatize other girls menstruating, making them put all their activities to a stop when that time of the month comes. So much can be done to stop the menstruation stigma and shame. When the Ministry of Women's Empowerment concentrates in the urban areas, what then happens to those who lack access to the information and resources in the rural areas?
• We were baffled to learn that most girls in the rural areas use books, leaves, and old worn out cloths. This is harmful to their health. The government, alongside NGOs, other groups and every individual can do so much as far as this is concerned. A single organization or few organizations cannot do all. Collectively, so much can be done to create awareness, provide not only sanitary pads but also, safe hygienic practices and stop the cultural norms surrounding menstruation.
• For a serious subject such as menstruation, one day is not enough. I think if the International community has come up with a single day to celebrate this, the National community after seeing how important it is and how lacking we are can make it a whole month. Girls menstruate 12 times or more in a year, picking just a single day to talk about menstruation is not fair and does not do even a tiny part of the work that needs to be done on the subject.

Conclusion
Sensitizing and helping girls get sanitary pads should not be something only a selected few should do. This involves everyone. We all are attached to women and girls and menstruation is a big part of their lives. In helping a girl with sanitary pad or knowledge about menstruation, we are celebrating womanhood. Together we can do so much with regard to this. However, those already in the field are doing a great job.