By Sar Terver
At the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Mega Camp in Makurdi, adolescent girls and women face a monthly struggle that is rarely spoken of but deeply felt. The situation is the same in IDP camps across the state.
Menstruation, a natural part of womanhood, has become a burden for many of them due to lack of access to sanitary products and poor living conditions.
Miss Salome Barnabas, a young girl in the camp, captured the experience shared by many others. “For adolescent girls, they need sanitary pads to take care of themselves because for us here.
“We don’t know how to look for money to buy it since we don’t have any means of getting money. Unless people come to help us with the pads and other things once in a while,” she said.
With no regular supply of sanitary pads, many women resort to improvised alternatives such as old rags. Health professionals warn that this practice, though born of necessity, exposes women to serious risks.
Mrs. Sandra Kon, a lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Makurdi, explained that rags are not suitable for menstrual hygiene.
“Rags are a very poor menstrual product for menstrual hygiene but I understand that circumstances put us in rather difficult situations.
“First, you must acknowledge to these women that no woman should have to choose between eating or buying a menstrual product.
“Unfortunately, we are where we are and we must make the most of it. Rags are not a good option because they can lead to infection, odour, irritation, and even toxic shock syndrome — a potentially life-threatening infection caused by dangerous bacteria that can breed in menstrual blood that hasn’t been discarded”, she said.
Kon, however, offered practical guidance on how to minimise the risks when sanitary pads are unavailable.
“Rags must be washed thoroughly with soap and clean water, then sun-dried properly because sunlight kills germs.
They should be stored in clean, dry places and changed every four to six hours to reduce infection risks,” she advised.
She went further to stress that women must maintain overall personal hygiene during their period.
“Every woman should ensure to take at least two baths in a day during her period. It’s also essential to take grooming habits especially seriously during this time. Shave! That helps to curtail odour — a shaving stick isn’t so expensive,” she said.
On menstrual pain, Kon recommended simple remedies. “In cases of cramps, a cloth dipped in warm water and applied to the waist can be helpful.
Alternatively, an analgesic like PCM can also provide relief. And above all, remember to keep a good attitude! The fact that a woman can menstruate means that she is capable of giving life,” the expert concluded.
Yet, the challenges go beyond hygiene. Grace Achodo, a retired nurse from the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, presented a broader perspective.
Comparing the use of sanitary pads and rags, she acknowledged that sanitary pads are more convenient, hygienic, and dignifying but pointed out their cost and environmental implications.
“The health risks for using rags for menstrual hygiene versus sanitary pads must be looked at carefully. Using a pad is more beautifying. It soaks better.
“When you use a pad, you discard it without stress. There is no need of handling your own waste which looks so messy and smelly. So, it makes you look smart.
“Some women, even the odour from their own body irritates. With sanitary pads, before it will soak to the extent that it will start bringing odour, you must have discarded and used another one,” Achodo said.
But she also noted the economic reality. “Now, we are considering the use of sanitary pads in the present dispensation of high economic distress. So, it is very expensive. It has effect on the person financially and in the environment, it is not biodegradable.
“The materials used in producing sanitary pads do not get absorbed into the soil. Even if it gets into the soil, there is a particular part of it that cannot be degraded biologically. It affects the quality of soil in terms of agriculture. Benue State for instance, is an agrarian area.
“When you dump refuse, you will see pads. When you dig up the soil, you will still see particles of it. That plastic patch cannot decay and is always in the soil. So that has implications for soil fertility and food production.”
Beyond the soil, she explained, used pads also pollute the air and water. “When rubbish accumulates, especially blood, you know that blood smells bad, whether animal or human. When you inhale bad odour, it affects your respiratory tract, causing respiratory infections.
“During the rainy season, water bodies are also infected. Some people in the villages use streams as their source of drinking water. So, the rubbish and infection from used sanitary pads will pollute the streams.”
Achodo acknowledged that rags are cheaper and biodegradable but stressed the cultural barriers that worsen their risks.
“In some African cultures, a man is not supposed to see where a woman that is menstruating washes or dries her menstrual rags. It is a taboo.
“Based on that, most women don’t hang it openly. They hide it under mattresses, behind windows or door blinds, where air will not touch it.
“Without sunlight, germs grow. Some women do not even have electricity or irons to disinfect them before reuse. The risk is so messy. It is not dignifying,” she lamented.
She added that scarcity of water and soap in the camps also makes it difficult to maintain hygiene. “Economically, there is no money to buy soap and detergent, not to talk about other disinfectants to disinfect the water. So, the ups and downs have health implications on the woman, the family, and the society at large.
“The use of rags predisposes women of reproductive age to vaginal infections, which can sometimes spread to the cervix, uterus, or even block the fallopian tubes, leading to infertility.”
Her conclusion was a call for systemic action. “While sanitary pads are convenient, they are costly and environmentally damaging. Rags are cheaper but pose serious health risks if not properly handled.
“The advice is that government should encourage industries to produce affordable, biodegradable sanitary pads for women of reproductive age.
“They should also promote reusable types of pads with the facilities and materials needed to keep them clean and healthy for use,” she said.
For women in IDP camps, menstruation is not just a private experience but a public health concern. As humanitarian organisations continue to provide food, shelter, and medical aid, experts insist that menstrual hygiene must no longer be overlooked.
Every woman deserves dignity, even in displacement, and access to safe menstrual products is a right, not a privilege.
