The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has pledged to eliminate import duties on sanitary pads should Ghanaians give them a second tenure.

Reading the party’s 2020 Manifesto on Saturday, Vice President Dr Mahammudu Bawumia said the move is to improve health conditions of the students particularly among females.

He noted that the move has become necessary since some female students absent themselves from classes because they cannot afford sanitary pads.

“What we aim to really do is to make sure that we produce the sanitary pads in Ghana so until that happens in its numbers we are going to eliminate the import duties [on sanitary pads] to bring down the cost,” he stated.

A study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund in 2016 revealed that 95 per cent of girls in rural areas sometimes miss school due to menstruation.

According to the study, one reason was that they were too poor to buy sanitary pads, so they stay at home for their period.

However, Dr Bawumia said to eradicate absentism of girls from school during their period, port duties which tends to increase the prices of sanitary pads will be removed until the country starts manufacturing its own.

The Vice President also pledged that should NPP be given another tenure come December 7, the Akufo-Addo administration will focus on telemedicine.

This, according to him, will make reduce the physical presence of health personnel to diagnose and prescribe medicine to a patient.