The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has launched the nationwide distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and learning materials to girls in public basic education schools, in a move aimed at improving school attendance and reducing 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 State House Conference Centre in Abuja. It covers public basic education schools across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, said the programme was designed to address menstrual hygiene challenges and financial constraints that prevent some girls, particularly those in rural communities, from attending classes regularly.
She said the distribution would include sanitary towels, school bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematics textbooks and other writing materials to support girls’ participation in learning.
“Our message is clear: no girl child should have to choose between her dignity and her education,” Garba said, urging state governments, State Universal Basic Education Boards, traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents and development partners to ensure transparent distribution of the materials.
Tinubu said access to sanitary products and basic educational supplies remained important to keeping girls in school, especially in rural communities where household poverty can make these items difficult to afford.
She urged state first ladies, education commissioners and SUBEB chairpersons to ensure that the materials reach their intended beneficiaries. She also called on community leaders to challenge the stigma surrounding menstruation and encourage families to support girls’ education.
The programme builds on the original Flow with Confidence initiative launched by the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative on October 2, 2025. That phase provided a one-year supply of disposable sanitary pads to about 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities nationwide.
Education Minister Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa said the government was working to make menstrual hygiene support a sustained part of its basic education interventions. He said UBEC would include provisions for sanitary towels in its annual budgets, while the World Bank-supported Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment programme would continue menstrual hygiene interventions throughout its implementation.
Tinubu also announced a ₦2 billion Learners’ Retention Support Programme targeting 100,000 learners in its first phase. Each beneficiary is expected to receive ₦20,000 to help address financial barriers to school attendance and retention.
Garba said UBEC had facilitated the construction of more than 4,000 classrooms in less than three years and provided learning materials to over three million pupils in the preceding year. She added that approximately 700,000 out-of-school children had returned to classrooms through interventions involving the commission and other stakeholders.
Menstrual hygiene challenges and the cost of essential supplies can contribute to absenteeism and interrupt learning for adolescent girls. Education advocates have therefore called for practical support alongside efforts to improve sanitation facilities, provide accurate menstrual health information and address stigma.
UBEC’s expanded programme seeks to reduce these barriers, while its impact will depend on effective distribution, adequate supplies and sustained support from education authorities and communities.
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