REEP Ambassadors on the Menstrual Cup Project, Phase II

Building on the successes of RAMCUP I, Phase II expands access to sustainable menstrual hygiene products including menstrual cups and reusable sanitary pads for adolescent girls and women in Northern Ghana. Through a community-driven, rights-based approach, the project tackles cultural stigma, period poverty and weak policy accountability, while championing menstrual dignity and gender equality.

PROJECT REACH AND PARTNER SCHOOLS

RAMCUP II directly targets 435 primary beneficiaries across 5 districts in Northern Ghana, including 175 Senior High School club girls, 50 REEP Ambassadors, 75 You Must Know (YMK) youth advocates, 100 Kayayei girls in Accra, 10 health staff, 25 WATCH Committee members The project works through 7 partner schools, namely Kumbungu SHS in the Kumbungu District, Kasuliyili SHS and Tolon SHS in the Tolon District, Savelugu SHS and Pong Tamale SHS in the Savelugu Municipality, Tamale Technical Institute in the Sagnarigu District, and Karaga SHS in the Karaga District. Beyond the primary group, the project envisions reaching over 200,000 secondary beneficiaries including parents, youth, adolescent young girls, men and boys, teachers, community and religious leaders and the wider public across all project districts.

OUTCOMES AND TARGET GROUPS

PROJECT OUTCOMES

1. Capacity Building for Change: Training REEP Ambassadors, club girls, health workers, and youth advocates on menstrual hygiene management and sustainable product use.
2. Menstrual Policy Monitoring: Establishing community WATCH Committees to track the government’s free sanitary pad distribution and hold duty bearers accountable.
3. Push for Menstrual Sustainability: Advocating for district assemblies and government agencies to adopt reusable pads and menstrual cups as sustainable policy options.
4. Accelerating Social and Behavioural Change: Normalising menstruation through community theatre, media campaigns, and the Men for Menstrual Dignity (MMD) programme.

OUR TARGET GROUPS

Senior High School Club Girls: Female students from 7 Senior High Schools across the 5 project districts receive peer-led training on menstrual hygiene management, product use, and their rights as young women.

REEP Ambassadors: REEP Ambassadors are young women who were once REEP Club Girls and have since completed their Senior High School education. They return to serve as role models, mentors, and facilitators to the current generation of club girls, leading sensitization activities in schools and communities and serving as the backbone of REEP’s grassroots outreach model. Many have gone on to become nurses, teachers, midwives, entrepreneurs, and art practitioners in male-dominated fields, making them uniquely powerful advocates for girls’ rights and menstrual dignity.

You Must Know (YMK) Youth Advocates: Adolescent-led advocacy groups formed across the 5 districts to create safe spaces for peer dialogue, menstrual health awareness, and community-level advocacy including male engagement.

WATCH Committee Members: Community members trained to monitor the government’s free sanitary pad distribution in schools, report irregularities, and ensure transparency and accountability at the district level.

Kayayei Girls in Accra: Out-of-school girls from Northern Ghana working as head porters (Kayayei) in Accra, reached through targeted outreach in partnership with DUNK to ensure no girl is excluded.

Boys, Men and Community Leaders: Through the Men for Menstrual Dignity (MMD) programme, boys and men are actively engaged to challenge stigma, normalise conversations around menstruation, and become allies in promoting gender equality.

WHERE WE WORK

Karaga district: A predominantly rural district in the North East Region characterised by limited infrastructure and high levels of poverty. The district faces significant gaps in access to health services, education facilities, and menstrual hygiene support for girls.

Kumbungu district: Located in the Northern Region, Kumbungu is a largely agrarian district with a dispersed rural population. Many schools lack adequate WASH facilities, and girls frequently miss school during menstruation due to stigma and lack of products.

Sagnarigu district: A peri-urban district in the Northern Region bordering Tamale. While more accessible than other project districts, significant pockets of underserved communities remain, with weak implementation of menstrual health policies in schools.

Savelugu Municipality: A growing municipality in the Northern Region with a mix of urban and rural communities. Gender inequality and cultural norms around menstruation continue to limit girls’ participation in school and community life.

Tolon district: A rural district in the Northern Region with limited access to reproductive health services and inadequate school sanitation infrastructure. Menstrual stigma is prevalent, contributing to absenteeism and low confidence among adolescent girls.

Accra (Kayayie outreach): Targeted outreach is conducted in Accra to reach Kayayei girls from Northern Ghana who migrate to the capital as head porters. This group is often excluded from mainstream health and development interventions and faces multiple layers of vulnerability.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE SDGS

SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing	SDG 4: Quality Education	SDG 5: Gender Equality
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation	SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth	SDG 12: Responsible Consumption