The Lola Cater Foundation aims to give 5,000 girls teaching on periods, reading material and hygiene supplies by 28 May 2027. The goal brings the subject of period education in Nigeria back into the spotlight. Girls frequently pick up what they know from their peers rather than from mothers, fathers, or teachers.
As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria, the aim is part of a wider push to support menstrual health education Nigeria. It also supports the health, self-assurance, and dignity of girls. Ololade Ogunnubi, who leads the foundation as its chief executive, announced it in Abuja.
Menstrual health education Nigeria: what was announced in Abuja
Ogunnubi made the announcement on menstrual health education Nigeria at the “She Is Ready” 2026 event. It was held on Wednesday to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, as Peoples Gazette Nigeria reported.
Also launched at the event was My First Period: A Young Girl's Guide to Confidence, Courage and Growing Up. The book is meant to back up menstrual health education Nigeria already offers through teaching on periods. It gives girls plain facts about menstruation and the changes that come with adolescence.
According to Ogunnubi, the book serves as a hands-on resource for girls, along with their parents, their teachers and any other adults they trust. Its aim, she said, is to make it easier for them to discuss periods frankly and to pass on correct information. This is in line with the growing call for stronger menstrual health education Nigeria needs across the country.
The foundation wants girls to meet their first period armed with understanding and self-belief. It wants them free of fear, bewilderment, or shame. This is the heart of its menstrual health education Nigeria effort.
Where parents and teachers fail to connect
Ogunnubi said many girls feel anxious and ashamed when their first period arrives. In her view, the cause is that they have no dependable facts, cannot easily get hygiene products and have no reliable adult to guide them.
She identified weak dialogue between homes and classrooms as a key obstacle. Some parents assume the school will teach their children about periods, while teachers tend to think the job belongs chiefly to parents.
She said this leaves a vacuum that friends rush to fill. Without a coordinated approach, she cautioned, many girls end up hearing myths and unhelpful guidance from other girls their age.
“Parents are not teaching, and schools are saying it is the parents' responsibility. So, what do you think the students are going to get their information from?” Ogunnubi asked.
She added that girls meet other everyday hurdles too. Some have no adult they can trust to ask for comfort and guidance.
Access to products remains a problem
The scale of the access problem is large. A report published by Economic Confidential cites the World Bank as estimating that nearly 37 million Nigerian women and girls of reproductive age have difficulty reaching safe menstrual products.
Government officials voiced worries about the very same obstacles. The Federal Ministry of Youth Development said that stigma around periods, mistaken beliefs and a shortage of sanitary items and washing spaces keep undermining girls' self-assurance. It said they also hurt girls' school attendance and their part in society.
Dr Maryam Keshinro, the Permanent Secretary, was absent from the gathering and was represented by Emmanuel Essien, who heads the ministry's Youth Health, Mental and Psychosocial Affairs Department. A message credited to her called on everyone with a part to play to put resources into girls' schooling, their menstrual wellbeing, life skills and mentoring.
It also pressed for tougher action to shield girls from violence based on gender, damaging traditions and early marriage.
Reactions from government and traditional leaders
The Adolescent and School Health Branch of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare also lent its support. Its head, Joy Kalu, sent Charity Okala, an Assistant Director at the ministry, in her place.
Okala argued that periods ought not to be a subject spoken of only in whispers. She appealed to government agencies, households, schools, partner organisations and young people themselves to play their part.
“We all have a role to play. We need to bring that together to ensure that our roles complement each other,” she said.
She added that correct health information lets young people take sound decisions about their own welfare and get ready for adult life.
Patricia Narai, spouse of the Sakari of Karu, spoke at the Association of Wives of FCT Traditional Rulers event. She told the audience that her own first period left her bewildered, since nobody had explained to her what her body was going through.
“Menstruation is not a source of shame. It is a natural biological process that deserves understanding, care and respect,” Narai said.
She encouraged traditional councils, mothers, and fathers and local leaders to foster open discussion, and to widen the availability of sanitary products along with safe toilets and handwashing facilities. She further advised girls to bring their questions to adults they trust, instead of allowing embarrassment or false information to erode their self-assurance.
What happens next
Reaching 5,000 girls will rest on partnerships. Ogunnubi appealed for closer teamwork between public agencies, schools, health workers, community heads, civil society groups and businesses.
She stressed that joint action is needed so that girls in underserved communities, above all, can get period education and basic hygiene resources.
The foundation has until May 2027 to deliver. The speakers at the Abuja event agreed on one point. Closing the gap between what parents, schools, and officials each assume the other will teach is as important as supplying books and products.
- The target: 5,000 girls reached by 28 May 2027.
- The tools: lessons, reading material and support with sanitary supplies.
- The call: partnerships across government, schools, health workers, communities, and business.
