Mokutima Ajileye is the managing director of Procter & Gamble Nigeria. In this interview with CHARLES OGWO, she discussed how the ‘Always Keeping Girls in School Programme’ is impacting young women and enhancing their knowledge around Menstrual Health Management. She also touched on other areas. Excerpts:
P&G has always been at the forefront of gender equality advocacy. Why is this important to your organisation?
We aspire to build a better world, one with equal voice and representation for all individuals. Only in a world free of gender bias will individuals reach their full potential. When you empower a woman, economies grow, communities are healthier, businesses will thrive, and the world is a better place for everyone. To drive irreversible progress, we must make practical changes, addressing inequality such as period poverty wherever it is present thereby changing the narratives about the place and power of girls and women in society.
Every girl child and woman deserves to live to her fullest potential, and this is why we are focused on removing barriers to education for girls and economic opportunities for women through our brand advocacy programmes.
You spoke on period-poverty. In your opinion what are the effects if any?
In Nigeria, over 52 million women experience menstruation with almost 70 percent of them lacking access to sanitary pads as well as adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). When girls don’t have access to period products, not only do they not feel protected, but it also puts their confidence, dignity, and education at risk. A UNESCO report revealed that one in ten Nigerian girls misses school during her menstrual cycle. This is estimated to be about 48 days in a year due to a lack of access to sanitary pads.
Period products with the right support can help positively impact girls’ confidence and future. P&G continues to champion good menstrual hygiene management practices through the provision of period products as well as continuous education to drive societal change eradicating period poverty.
How does the P&G AKGIS initiative empower girls through education?
The onset of menstruation marks the lowest point of confidence, as most girls lose confidence during puberty; one of the key reasons for this is a lack of information as well as societal stigma. MHM (menstrual health management) education remains under-prioritised, two out of every three girls who enter puberty do not know enough about what is happening to their bodies.
The Always Keeping Girls in School Program has facilitated the training of School Guidance Counsellors, girls, and boys on Menstrual Hygiene Management by teaching confidence-building skills as well as providing free educational resources and samples that help girls understand the changes they will go through during puberty and how to cope with them.
Could you speak more on the Always Keeping Girls in School Program (AKGIS)?
The Always Keeping Girls in School program is inspired by the Always brand purpose (to unleash women and girls’ confidence so they can be whoever they want to be) and by Procter & Gamble’s commitment to gender equality building a world where everyone sees equal. Stigmas and taboos around menstruation lead to many girls not receiving information about puberty and often being unprepared when they have their first period. Girls who grow up in poverty often cannot afford period protection, which means that they don’t fully participate in school, sports, or social life when they have their periods. The health risks associated with not having access to menstrual products are not to be ignored. A woman without access to these medically necessary products is at risk of developing conditions such as urinary tract infections, cervical cancer, or even infertility.
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The Always Keeping Girls in School program is a key intervention targeted at enhancing girls’ knowledge and practices around reproductive health through life skill training, provision of emergency sanitary kits, and mobilisation of stakeholders’ support for menstrual hygiene management in schools. In Nigeria, this year’s AKGIS program will be implemented by the Tabitha Cumi Foundation and will reach schoolgirls in the FCT and Ogun State with essential menstrual health management training and donation of a year’s supply of sanitary pads so that they can commit to their education and future fully.
What has been the impact of the AKGIS and are you satisfied with the impact you are making with this program?
Since the inception of our Always Keeping Girls in School (AKGIS) program in 2009, we have been able to reach vulnerable girls with essential menstrual health management training and donation of a year supply of sanitary pads, so that they can commit to their education and their future. The intervention in 2017 was able to reach over 50,000 girls in the Federal Capital Territory with the distribution of free packs of sanitary pads. We also trained girls, boys as well as school guidance counsellors on menstrual hygiene management. AKGIS has also provided emergency sanitary receptacles in the supported schools in the territory and renovation of Water Sanitation and Hygiene facilities in some of these schools. P&G has reached over 200, 000 girls, and donated over 13 million pads in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. These numbers went up a bit this year as well.
How has P&G been able to keep the momentum sustaining the AKGIS program?
At P&G we realise that it is a long-term project and realities will not change overnight. We have over the years leveraged strategic partnerships with highly engaged organisations such as the government, government agencies, non-governmental organisations as well as other relevant stakeholders that share our commitment, combining our resources, talents, and skills to have a bigger impact. And all our partners including the government have been hugely supportive, having dignitaries like the First Ladies, Honourable Ministers and others is a testament to how kind the government is towards this programme and I think that is because we can all agree that the importance of initiatives like AKGIS cannot be overstated.
How is the Always Keeping Girls in School Program contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals?
Lack of access to menstrual hygiene management continues to be a barrier to girls’ education. This impacts some of the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 1 to put an end to poverty; Goal 4 for quality education; and Goal 5 for gender equality, as girls are being left behind and are missing out on their education. The Always Keeping Girls in School programme is committed to providing adequate access to sanitary pads and other facilities for menstrual hygiene management and ensuring no girl child is denied access to quality education or kept out of school due to period poverty.
What do you see in the future for your brand and your corporate social responsibility?
We will continue to lead the charge in doing the right thing. Our goal is to use every opportunity we must set change in motion, this will not change, rather it will gain momentum. While we continue to serve our consumers, we will also remain steadfast in our commitment to being one of the world’s most socially responsible companies.
Doing good is part of our business strategy, not a nice to have. As consumers are changing, so brands need to adapt and find the balance between citizenship and the market. Our long-term vision is to ensure that our consumers enjoy the products they love today without sacrificing tomorrow. We will achieve this through the collaborative efforts of our brands, employees, operations, and partners to make a difference, by being more transparent, building collaborative partnerships, respecting human rights, sourcing responsibly…generally doing what is right.
