To the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, the RT. HON. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Minister of Finance Margret Kiwanuka and Members of the Ugandan Parliament,

Our children are our greatest resource and for society to reach its full potential, all children must have equal access to education. Tragically, many girls reaching the age of puberty are forced to skip school because they do not have access to, or cannot afford, feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins. Not only does this compromise their health, it causes many girls to fall behind in their classes and, ultimately, to drop out.

This is wrong. No girl should be denied an education because of her normal biological functions.

We, the signatories, call on the Government of Uganda to apply gender-responsive budgeting as part of the educational funding process and and make provision to provide all economically disadvantaged girls with the sanitary pads needed to stay in school.

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