The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and learning materials to girls in public basic education schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as part of efforts to improve school attendance and promote girls’ education.
The initiative, tagged Flow with Confidence, Keeping Every Girl in School, was launched on Monday by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.
The event was held under the theme, “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights.”
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, described the intervention as a significant investment in the dignity, well-being and educational future of Nigerian girls.
Alausa commended President Bola Tinubu for prioritising children in national development and praised the First Lady for her sustained advocacy for girls’ education.
He said the Federal Ministry of Education was institutionalising the programme through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.
According to him, UBEC will make annual budgetary provisions for sanitary towels, while the AGILE project will sustain menstrual hygiene interventions throughout its implementation.
The minister said beneficiaries would receive sanitary towels alongside school bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematics textbooks and other writing materials.
He urged state governments and education authorities to ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution of the materials so that they reached the intended beneficiaries.
The First Lady recalled that the Renewed Hope Initiative launched the original sanitary pad distribution programme on October 2, 2025, providing a one-year supply of sanitary products to more than 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities across the country.
She noted that inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products disproportionately affected girls in rural areas, contributing to absenteeism and threatening their ability to remain in school.
Tinubu also highlighted UBEC’s Learners’ Retention Support Programme, which plans to support 100,000 learners in its first phase with grants of ₦20,000 each, under a ₦2 billion allocation.
She called on state First Ladies, commissioners for education, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) chairmen, traditional and religious leaders, parents and communities to ensure transparent distribution and help eliminate the stigma associated with menstruation.
The First Lady urged girls to remain in school, believe in themselves and pursue their aspirations.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, said the intervention demonstrated the government’s commitment to protecting girls’ rights and dignity.
She stressed that no girl should have to choose between education and menstrual health, encouraging beneficiaries to remain focused and confident in pursuing their educational goals.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to removing barriers to girls’ education.
Garba disclosed that UBEC had facilitated the construction of more than 4,000 classrooms in less than three years, alongside the provision of water and sanitation facilities, learning materials, teacher development programmes and digital technology in public schools.
She added that more than three million pupils received back-to-school materials in the preceding year, while approximately 700,000 out-of-school children had been supported to return to classrooms through interventions involving UBEC and other stakeholders.
The Chairman of the UBEC Governing Board, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, pledged effective oversight to ensure that the materials reached the intended beneficiaries.
He said keeping girls in school was essential to preventing early marriage, expanding opportunities and empowering them to shape their futures.
The Federal Ministry of Education reaffirmed its commitment to working with UBEC, state governments, SUBEBs, development partners and communities to sustain the initiative and ensure that poverty, menstrual hygiene challenges and other preventable barriers did not deny Nigerian girls access to quality basic education.
