Prison Inmates to Produce 12 Million Sanitary Pads for Schools

The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Education have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable the production of school uniforms, furniture, and about 12 million sanitary pads for basic and secondary schools nationwide.

Under the agreement, the Ghana Prisons Service, operating under the Ministry of the Interior, will receive at least a 30 percent allocation in the production and supply of school furniture, while a minimum 25 percent concession has been set aside for the rollout of the government’s 2025 free sanitary pad policy.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak said the partnership is designed to guarantee value for money, improve transparency, and strengthen production within state-owned institutions.

“We are anchoring production in state-run industrial systems, subject to proper oversight, to ensure efficiency, accountability, and value for public funds,” he noted.

The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, said the initiative would play a crucial role in inmate rehabilitation by providing skills training and income opportunities, ultimately helping to reduce reoffending.

Beyond skills acquisition and earnings, she explained, the broader objective is to enhance public safety by breaking the cycle of recidivism and ensuring inmates reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens.

For his part, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu revealed that the programme aims to produce more than 12 million sanitary pads and assured that sufficient budgetary provision would be made to support the Ghana Prisons Service.

He added that future procurement decisions, including into 2026, would be guided by the terms of the MoU.