INZ Project Successfully Completed: On Reproductive Health with 2,300 Girls

(Patria) - The Institute for Health and Food Safety of Zenica (INZ), despite the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), has successfully completed the project of educating girls about their reproductive health titled "Healthy, Strong, Educated".

The project included over 2,300 girls in the sixth grade of primary schools, in 75 schools and over 200 school facilities in twelve municipalities and cities of the Zenica-Doboj Canton.

In the first part of the project, before the start of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, girls' education was conducted live in classrooms, and the education was carried out by employees of the INZ School Hygiene Service.

After about 50 school institutions were covered in this way, live education was "moved" to online platforms with the interruption of classes, and the remaining 17 school institutions were covered by the project by delivering the address and a short educational film recorded on CD, along with planned gifts to each school.

Teachers, through established internet platforms, enable students to watch the educational film, and INZ has also published it on its website inz.ba, where it is available for download and viewing by all interested parties. Also, the educational brochure is presented in PDF format.

The project was implemented by the INZ School Hygiene Service with the partnership assistance of two socially responsible companies, which provided gifts and accompanying materials, dm drogerie markt Sarajevo and Violeta Grude. The total value of the donation to the girls is over 20,000 KM, and each girl received a gift package containing hygiene products for menstruation.

- Due to cultural customs and stigmatization, even today, a large number of girls grow up without reliable information about female reproductive development. Therefore, the INZ School Hygiene Service launched a series of workshops and educational classes. Although the material was created in cooperation with partners primarily for female students and schools in the Zenica-Doboj Canton, it is universal and can be used in any school in BiH and the region, prepared and appropriate for this age group, so we believe it will find its way to female students in other schools in BiH.

Given the existing ignorance and insufficient information, incorrect sources of information, as well as the misunderstanding of correct information due to technical terminology, the brochure that serves as the basis for the workshops is written in simple language, understandable and interesting for this age group. Indirectly, it is also a help to parents in better understanding the processes their daughters are going through, states doc. dr. Nino Hasanica, expert associate at the Institute.

 

INZ plans similar projects in the future, which will also include boys with explanations about their specific growth and development during this challenging period of life.