DIPA empowers over 1,000 schoolgirls through “Pad-A-Girl” initiative in Lagos
Deborah’s Impact Projects Africa (DIPA) has strengthened its drive for menstrual health equity in Nigeria through its Pad-A-Girl initiative, which has reached more than 1,000 adolescent girls across Lagos with free sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene education.
The outreach, held at Gbara Community Senior High School, Jakande, Eti-Osa, and Onike Junior High School, Iwaya, Yaba, provided menstrual products, hygiene education, and confidence-building sessions to girls often forced to miss school due to lack of access to sanitary pads.
With inflation pushing basic hygiene products beyond the reach of many families, DIPA launched Pad-A-Girl to ensure no girl has to choose between her dignity and her education.
DIPA’s Programs Director, Diezani Ototo-Onuorah, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to empowering young girls. “We have seen how something as natural as menstruation can derail a girl’s destiny. Pad-A-Girl is our way of giving every girl the freedom, knowledge, and confidence to show up and succeed in class and in life,” she said.
School administrators commended the effort. Oyewole Abosede, Principal of Gbara Community Senior High School, said the initiative “restored dignity” to many girls, while Dr. (Mrs.) Patience Yetunde Akingbade, Principal of Onike Junior High School, praised DIPA for “restoring confidence and focus” to students from low-income families.
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The outreach featured discussions on menstrual hygiene, puberty awareness, and self-esteem, alongside efforts to dispel myths surrounding menstruation.
The Pad-A-Girl Drive forms part of DIPA’s broader mission to uplift women and girls across Africa. The organisation has impacted over 10,000 women and girls in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, and South Africa through initiatives focused on education, financial literacy, and food security.
DIPA says the Pad-A-Girl Drive will continue across Lagos and other African communities to ensure girls remain confident, educated, and empowered to pursue their dreams with dignity.
