Question NW791 to the Minister of Basic Education
18 May 2017 - NW791
Stander, Ms T to ask the Minister of Basic Education
Whether her department has engaged with the office of Women in The Presidency to discuss the roll-out of its Sanitary Dignity Campaign to provide sanitary towels to vulnerable and poor girls; if not, why not; if so, (a) in what ways will her department be involved and (b) what are the further relevant details in this regard?
Reply:
Whether her department has engaged with the office of Women in The Presidency to discuss the roll-out of its Sanitary Dignity Campaign to provide sanitary towels to vulnerable and poor girls;
Yes, the Department of Basic Education serves on the Sanitary Dignity Campaign Task Team as coordinated by Department of Women in the Presidency.
(a) in what ways will her department be involved
The Department has been participating in the task team meetings with the view to contribute to the campaign. There are no adequate resources in the DBE voted funds to address the provision of sanitary towels to poor girls. However, provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal are providing sanitary towels to various degrees.
(b) what are the further relevant details in this regard
The Department is engaging its partners to consider supporting the initiative but this will be informed by empirical evidence of the need for sanitary towels among affected learners of school-going age and by identifying locations of greatest need for a more focused intervention.