(NOLA Africa Trains Secondary Students. Photo Credit: Punch News)
A nonprofit organisation, NOLA Africa, has called for greater access to menstrual health education and reproductive health awareness for adolescent girls living in underserved communities across Nigeria.
The call was made during the organisation’s Project Lafiya outreach programme held in the Isefun community of Lagos, organised to mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day on Wednesday.
According to a statement released on Thursday, the initiative successfully reached over 250 teenage girls through a series of educational sessions covering menstrual hygiene, emotional well-being, puberty, personal safety, and sexual and reproductive health rights.
Speaking at the event, the founder of NOLA Africa, Tomiwa Nihinlola, highlighted that a large number of young girls continue to be denied access to accurate health information due to the deeply entrenched stigma surrounding open conversations about menstruation and reproductive health.
She explained that the outreach was deliberately designed to provide a safe, judgment-free, and practical environment where girls could ask questions openly and receive reliable information from trained facilitators.
Nihinlola stressed that the initiative goes far beyond basic health education, describing it as an effort to build confidence and self-worth among young girls and equip them with the knowledge needed to make safer, more informed decisions about their lives and futures.
She noted that the response from participants reinforced just how urgent and necessary these conversations are in communities where silence and shame have long dominated such discussions.
She further emphasised that access to information and strong support systems are fundamental to empowering girls and broadening the horizons of what they believe is possible for themselves.
As part of the outreach, the organisation distributed reusable sanitary pads and menstrual record booklets to participants to support proper hygiene management and deepen their understanding of their menstrual cycles.
NOLA Africa described the programme as part of its wider mission to uplift women and girls in vulnerable communities through education, mentorship, and access to essential resources.
