The Ghana CSOs Platform on SDGs and its network members including the CDD-Ghana, the Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), and the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) among others have demanded that sanitary products be reclassed as “essential social goods” and that import taxes be immediately removed on them in order to make them more readily available to women and girls.
The CSOs Platform in a crucial statement highlighted that countries including Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya have outlawed levies on sanitary products and therefore called on the government of Ghana to do same.
As sanitary items are listed in the Harmonized System’s chapter 96 and are subject to a 32.5 percent tax on imported pads, they push the government of Ghana to do the same. Additionally, it accounts for 12.5 percent of the Value Added Tax and 20 percent of import duties.
The CSOs called for a comprehensive effort to lower the cost of sanitary goods and step up public education about menstruation in honor of the 2023 Menstrual Hygiene Day celebration.
Institutions including schools, government agencies, and businesses have been urged to make provisions so that women and girls can manage their periods with dignity and comfort while still working.
Kindly read the full crucial press release here:
Source:humanrightsreporters.com
