N/R: Student's Chief joins calls for removal of 'killer' taxes on sanitary pads

The Dagomba Chief of the Tamale Technical University and Executive Director of Dagbon Advocacy Network, Naa Nurudeen Ibrahim has joined calls for government to remove nuisance taxes on sanitary pad and other mentrual products.

According to him, the high cost of the product in the market is as a result of the high taxes placed on the products.

Naa Nurudeen breakdown the taxes on the products such as processing fee, Import Vat, Special Import levy, Inspection fee, Covid-19 health recovery levy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM levy, Newwork Getfund, Import duty on sanitary pad, Network charges Vat, African Union import levy and several others.

He bemoans that sanitary pad has become a scarce product in deprived communities and among girls from poor homes due to the high cost.

Addressing Journalists at the DASA Palace as part of the Mensural Hygiene Day Celebration, he revealed that some girls use rags, towels whilst others absent themselves from classes during the mensuration period.

“Feeding and other basic needs is already a problem to these girls and access to sanitary pad of late has added more headache to these young women, some of them beg or borrow pads from friends during mensuration, this practice is common in boarding schools. When these taxes are removed by government a pack of the product is likely to be Gh¢5, am taking this opportunity on behalf of students in Ghana to appeal to government to adhere to the numerous calls,” she stated.

He called on the State Executive, organizations and the media to collectively pressure government to revoke a number of the taxes.

Naa Nurudeen used the opportunity to appeal for sanitary pads for onward distribution to school girls at the Tamale Technical Institute (TTI) and other underprivileged women in some communities.