By Tomiwa Akinbamire
Recently, many women and girls have aired their voices about the declining quality of menstrual pads, especially the adhesive gum that is meant to hold the pad firmly to underwear. According to those interviewed, the gum is no longer effective, causing pads to shift easily and increasing cases of leakage, discomfort, and embarrassment during menstruation.
In an interview, Damilola from Lagos, Nigeriae explained how frustrating the situation has become for many female users. She narrated that the gum used on menstrual pads no longer sticks properly to underwear, causing the pad to shift position and stain clothes.
According to her, “Pad has reduced their ability to keep producing effective gum again which always leads to staining their dress even after use.”
Another respondent, Rejoice from Jos, also shared her experience, stating that the gum no longer holds pads firmly the way it used to.
“Before now, if you gum a pad it stays until you take it off. But pads now keep shifting, therefore there are high chances of getting stained,” she explained.
Rejoice further narrated an incident that happened during an event:
“There is this day that I have an event and I was on my period. I put on a pad and it was not up to two hours before I noticed that the pad was no longer in my pants but inside my tights. Imagine if I was not putting on tights that day, it would have fallen off and made the situation very embarrassing. What I did was look for a restroom at UBA Bank, take it off, and go home for a clean-up, which distracted my event.”
According to UNICEF, approximately 1.8 billion people menstruate globally every month. Disposable sanitary pads remain one of the most commonly used menstrual hygiene products among women and girls. However, concerns are now being raised over the quality of some sanitary pads available in the market, particularly their sticking ability and absorption effectiveness.
Despite these challenges, several organizations in Nigeria are working to improve menstrual hygiene awareness and access to sanitary products. Organizations such as Pad-Up Africa and Pad Bank Nigeria provide free sanitary pads and menstrual health education to girls in underserved communities. Other organizations including PSI Nigeria and UNICEF Nigeria also continue to promote awareness campaigns aimed at reducing menstrual stigma and improving menstrual hygiene management in schools and communities across Nigeria.
However, more action and awareness are still needed, especially toward the manufacturing process of menstrual pads. Stakeholders are calling for improved quality control to ensure that pads produced for the market meet proper standards. As complaints continue to increase, many women and girls say the issue is affecting their confidence and daily activities due to constant fear of staining caused by ineffective adhesive gum.
There are also growing calls for healthcare authorities and regulatory bodies to pay closer attention to the production and approval of sanitary pads before they are released into the market. Proper regulation and monitoring, they believe, would help improve product quality and reduce the risks and embarrassment many women and girls currently face during menstruation.
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