N$5 million to end period poverty

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare is stepping up efforts to address period poverty, urging key government stakeholders to consider a dedicated N$5 million allocation in the mid-term budget to strengthen access to sanitary products for schoolgirls, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.In this context, period poverty refers to the inability to afford and access adequate menstrual products and safe sanitation facilities.Ngurare made the call while delivering his opening remarks at the 9th High-Level Gender Advisory Committee Meeting in Windhoek this week, in his capacity as chairperson of the committee.The proposed allocation builds on the October 2025 Dawn of Dignity initiative, launched at Don Bosco Primary School in the ||Kharas region, through which 41 700 packs of sanitary pads were distributed across all 14 regions at a cost of approximately N$500 000.The prime minister emphasised the need for sustained interventions to ensure that girls are not disadvantaged in their education because they cannot afford essential menstrual products.“There must be a common denominator of advancing human values, advancing human dignity, advancing human rights. Whether you are rich or you are poor, you are a human being,” said Ngurare.He further stressed that the cost of providing sanitary products should not stand in the way of protecting human dignity, saying: “And we have therefore no option but to make sure that we do that.”

N$5 million to end period poverty

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-16

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N$5 million to end period poverty

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-16

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