Training of trainers on menstrual hygiene: ECOWAS takes action for the menstrual dignity of young girls in Benin

As part of the implementation of the Project to Support Benin’s Initiatives to Raise Awareness among Young Girls about Good Personal and Menstrual Hygiene Practices and to Promote ECOWAS among Young People, the ECOWAS Representation in Benin organised, from 16 to 19 September 2025, two (2) training sessions for trainers in the communes of Zè and Djidja.

This initiative has strengthened the capacities of some twenty participants in reproductive health and good menstrual hygiene practices. The trained trainers will conduct awareness-raising sessions and distribute kits in secondary schools in the two municipalities, with a view to improving the well-being and dignity of young girls.

Led by the NGO Havre de Paix, these training sessions brought together around twenty participants from the departmental social services and secondary education departments, with the aim of strengthening their capacities in reproductive health and menstrual hygiene management (MHM).

During these sessions, participants were equipped with:

• A trainer’s guide,
• The use of a box of images and educational posters,
• Simulation exercises for awareness-raising sessions,
• And a practical workshop on making reusable sanitary towels.

These sessions also provided an opportunity to draw up schedules for field visits to secondary schools in the municipalities of Zè and Djidja, with a view to raising awareness and supporting several hundred young girls.