There are thought to be around 500,000 girls in Kenya between the ages of 12 and 18 years with no access to sanitary towels. As a consequence, many girls miss school when they're on their period, and some end up dropping out of school altogether. For the last two years, NGO's and female parliamentarians in Kenya have been trying to tackle the problem by distributing free sanitary towels in schools and by urging members of the public who can afford it, to donate sanitary towels.
The government has responded by reducing taxes on sanitary towels, but the campaign continues because they're still too expensive for most families. The majority of Kenyans earn less than a dollar a day, and sanitary towels cost a little less than a dollar. Our reporter Wairimu Gitahi attends the launch of the campaign in Thika in central Kenya and speaks to Massi Musomi, the director of Girl Child Network.
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