No girl should miss school over sanitary pads, says Oluremi Tinubu
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has said no Nigerian girl should miss school because her family cannot afford sanitary pads, as she flagged off the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and learning materials to girls in public basic education schools nationwide.
She also announced a N2 billion Learners’ Retention Support Programme targeting 100,000 learners in its first phase, with each beneficiary expected to receive N20,000 to help address financial barriers to school attendance.
Tinubu spoke on Monday at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, during the launch of the Flow with Confidence 2.0 initiative to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.
The programme, implemented by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), will cover public basic education schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The First Lady said the intervention was designed to tackle challenges that prevent girls, particularly those in rural communities, from attending school during menstruation.
“Keeping our girls in school requires us to recognise and address the challenges that affect their education, especially those in rural communities, who often miss school because they do not have access to sanitary products,” she said.
She explained that the programme built on the initial Flow with Confidence initiative launched by her Renewed Hope Initiative on October 2, 2025, which provided a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities.
Tinubu welcomed the Federal Ministry of Education’s decision to take over and expand the programme, saying the distribution of sanitary towels alongside educational materials would enable girls to continue their studies with confidence and dignity.
