The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has launched a pilot project to provide free sanitary pads for female students in the city and promote knowledge of the female reproductive system.

Deputy governor Sanon Wangsrangboon presided over the launch at Wat Rachsingkorn School in Bang Kho Laem district on Friday.

He said the project is part of Governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s policy to ensure every city resident receives equal opportunity in both education and healthcare.

“To support schoolgirls who are entering reproductive age, the BMA will provide free sanitary pads to everyone, not limited to those with financial problems, and will ensure that the supply will always be adequate for those who need them,” he said.

He added that providing free sanitary pads is not the only aim of this project, as it will encourage teenage girls to learn about their reproductive systems, and how to correctly deal with menstruation.

Wat Rachsingkorn School is the only institute in Bang Kho Laem that includes primary and secondary levels. It has 1,100 students, about 200 of whom are females between the ages of nine and 14.

Previously, the school used its own budget to buy sanitary pads for students who needed them.

The BMA estimates there are over 100,000 female students at schools under its administration who require sanitary pads.

It plans to expand the project to cover all schools in Bang Kho Laem and three adjacent districts by the end of this year.

The project is supported by Kao Industrial (Thailand) Ltd – which donated 60,000 sanitary pads – and the Youngfun Project, which will help provide sex education.

“We have set two long-term goals for the project. First, to promote good sanitation among school children, and second is to reduce the financial burden of students and their families, which could be spending up to 2,500 baht per year on sanitary pads,” Sanon explained.

The BMA is planning to expand the project to 109 schools next year.