The Federal Government has launched the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and back-to-school materials to girls in public basic education schools across Nigeria to address barriers to girls’ education.
The initiative, tagged Flow with Confidence 2.0: Keeping Every Girl in School, was launched on Monday, October 12, 2026, by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of activities marking the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.
The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba, said the intervention would help reduce absenteeism and improve school attendance and retention, particularly among girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
She stressed that no girl should miss school because she cannot afford sanitary products, describing the initiative as an investment in girls’ education, dignity and future prospects.
The learning materials to be distributed alongside the sanitary towels include school bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematics textbooks and writing materials.
Garba recalled that the original Flow with Confidence programme, launched by the First Lady in October 2025, provided a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities.
She also disclosed that UBEC had facilitated the construction of more than 4,000 classrooms nationwide in less than three years and supported efforts that returned approximately 700,000 out-of-school children to classrooms.
The First Lady also announced a scholarship intervention under UBEC’s Learners Retention Support Programme, targeting 100,000 learners in its first phase. Each beneficiary is expected to receive ₦20,000, under a total allocation of ₦2 billion.
Tinubu called on state governments and other stakeholders to ensure transparent distribution of the materials and financial support, while urging community leaders to help eliminate the stigma surrounding menstruation.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding access to education and removing barriers affecting girls’ school attendance and retention.
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