(COLOMBO) – The authorities in Sri Lanka are to provide free vouchers to school girls for the purpose of obtaining sanitary napkins in order to increase hygiene habits of female students, a senior Minister said on Wednesday.
The move will also provide an opportunity for girls who face challenges in getting adequate sanitary facilities owing to economic difficulties, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.
He said that towards this end a Bill has already been presented to Cabinet for approval.
Each voucher is valued around Rs. 1,200 approximately US$4 and the Government will set aside Rs 1 billion for this purpose, Premajayantha added.
The program is mainly aimed to provide support to girls from economically disadvantaged families and by strengthening healthy habits among schoolchildren, the Minister added.
The Government announcement comes days after the Leader of the Main Opposition Samagi Jana Balavega (SJB) Sajith Premadasa also promised to offer free sanitary napkins to girls from low income families.
The assurances, from across the political divide comes barely months before the island-nation will hold two key elections before the year’s end.
A Presidential and General Elections has to be held before the end of October this year.
