KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government is moving to address period poverty, which Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has acknowledged, often causes girls to miss school, and women to miss work.

The minister said, beginning this year, the Government will establish the National Menstrual Health Equity Initiative to alleviate period poverty among school-aged girls in Jamaica through strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Education and existing civic and multilateral groups such as HerFlow and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Tufton addressed the matter on Tuesday during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate.