For the first time in the northern region of Bangladesh, a sanitary vending machine has been inaugurated at the Collectorate Public High School and College in Thakurgaon to enhance reproductive health and health education for adolescent girls.
Thakurgaon Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Diti Roy unveiled the machine on Wednesday as part of an initiative by the voluntary organization Self Help and Rehabilitation Programme (SHARP).
Adolescent girls can use the machine to access sanitary napkins for Tk5 coin.
Present at the event were Thakurgaon municipality Mayor Anjuman Ara Begum Bonya, SHARP’s Executive Director Himangshu Chandra Chanda, school teachers, and representatives from both print and electronic media.
Himangshu Chandra Chanda said that in an effort to elevate the standard of reproductive health and health education for young girls in Thakurgaon, similar vending machines will be installed in every school in phases.
Two students, sixth-grader Brishti and eleventh-grader Rehana expressed that the introduction of this machine will make it easier for them to manage their menstrual needs and actively participate in class and other activities outside the home, which had previously been challenging.
