Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister To Launch Free Sanitary Napkin Distribution On Women’s Day

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will launch the free distribution of sanitary napkins to girl students of Classes 7 to 12 in government educational institutions on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Monday (March 8). As per a statement, the Chief Minister, in a review meeting held on Friday, also instructed officials to lay more focus on the health and hygiene of girls. The government will spend a total of Rs 41.4 crore per annum for this scheme.

Also Read: Women’s Day 2021: The Unsung Heroes Of India’s Primary Healthcare The Anganwadi Workers And ASHAs

Sanitary napkins will be distributed to students of Government schools, junior colleges, and Gurukul schools from July 1 and each girl will be given 10 sanitary napkins each month, totalling 120 napkins every year and will be available at Cheyutha Grocery shops at affordable prices.

Tenders will be completed by April 15 and MoUs will be signed between reputed companies and MEPMA (Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas) and SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) by the end of April, officials said.

Mr. Reddy further instructed the officials to provide the best coaching to girls for competitive exams and ordered them to prepare an action plan to take the help of reputed coaching centres along with the laptops provided to them by the government under the Ammavodi scheme.

Coaching should be interactive, using technology and laptops with the help of selected professional support and the action plan should ensure that the program is utilised by a maximum number of students, the Chief Minister told officials.

International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide every year on March 8 to recognise the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe. It seeks to celebrate women’s achievements, raises awareness about equality and lobbies for accelerated gender parity. This year, the theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is ‘Choose To Challenge’

Also Read: Women’s Day 2021: COVID-19 Pandemic Impact On Women And Their Struggle To Feed Their Families

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.