VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday launched the Swechha programme aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls studying in government schools and junior colleges. Speaking on the occasion, he said a study stated that 23% of adolescent girls in the country are not attending schools and colleges during menstruation.
In order to bring about a change, the government had come up with Swechha. Under the programme, the State government will provide sanitary napkins free of cost to over 10 lakh girls studying class 7 to 12. Each girl will be given 120 napkins a year. The Swechha programme will be implemented at a cost of `32 crore.
Teachers will be appointed as nodal officers in schools. Girl students will be taught about proper disposal of used sanitary pads, besides creating an awareness on menstrual hygiene. Separate dustbins and 6,417 incinerators will be set up under the Clean Andhra Pradesh Programme (CLAP), he explained.
Toilets in 56,703 schools and hostels will be constructed under the Nadu-Nedu programme. In the first phase, 15,715 schools have been renovated. All the remaining schools in the State will be renovated by 2023. An awareness on Disha App and Disha Act will also be created among girls.
The Joint Collector (Aasara) will monitor the implementation of the programme. As part of initiatives aimed at women’s empowerment, branded sanitary napkins will be sold at Cheyutha shops at affordable prices, he added. Jagan released a poster on the Swechha programme.
Women and Child Welfare Minister Taneti Vanitha said sanitary napkins are being procured from Procter and Gamble and other major companies for implementing Swechha and stocks required for October and November have already been sent to government schools in the State.
Stocks sent to schools for Oct, Nov
Women and Child Welfare Minister Taneti Vanitha said sanitary napkin stocks required for October and November have already been sent to all government schools under the Swechha programme