Bleeding through Lectures: The Struggle for Menstrual Products in Nigerian University

Oseni Aminah, a  300-level student at the University of Ilorin in Kwara State, sighs as she digs into her nearly empty purse. Buying another pack of sanitary pads will dent her budget for the month, but she has no choice. 

The pads she bought earlier outside the campus slipped out of her bag, and now she must purchase the same product from campus vendors at nearly double the price. 

Her predicament reflects a deeper economic pattern. In January, Nigeria’s inflation stood at 24.48%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), squeezing household budgets nationwide. 

However, menstrual products have been rising far faster than that. Between the first quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024, SBM intelligence’s survey found that sanitary pad prices surged by 128 per cent in a single year— more than five times the national inflation rate at the time. 

CAMPUS REPORTERS conducted a market survey in Kwara and our findings reflect that the average price of sanitary pads has risen by more than 160 per cent. On UNILORIN campus, the burden is heavier. A pack that costs ₦1,800 in town is sold for ₦2,500 within Aminah’s school. 

Vendors attribute the hike to transport costs, convenience pricing and limited competition. For many female students, that means sacrificing food money to afford dignity.

A stall owner in UNILORIN who simply identified herself as Mrs Comfort, rejects the idea that sellers are simply profiteering, noting that the markup is as a result of fuel prices, electricity and logistics.  

“Most of the sellers here buy their wares from the same market students go to for bulk purchase, and you don’t  expect us to sell at the exact price the goods are bought,” she explained.  

For Aminah, those explanations do little to ease the personal cost. “I had to add from my feeding allowance to afford it. Those shop owners exploit us because we’re trapped. I can skip meals, but I definitely won’t want to bleed through lectures,” she lamented. 

Her experience is a clear example of menstrual poverty, which the World Health Organization (WHO) described as “the inability to afford and access menstrual products,” and it affects approximately 800 million menstruating women and girls around the world mostly in developing countries every month.

“Too anxious to ask for help”

On Nigerian campuses, that global crisis is intensified by inflation, vendor markups, and the absence of affordable alternatives.

For Kemisola Abdulsalam, a student at Kwara State University, Malete, surviving on a modest allowance said choosing between food and pads is a recurring struggle. After an unexpected academic expense drained her funds, she was caught off guard by her menstrual cycle — a situation she has faced several times.

In her school, sanitary pads cost ₦2,000 whereas outside the campus, they are sold for ₦1,200. The campus vendors also justify this, citing transport costs and security fees. 

According to Dr Bello Audu, an economist at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, such price hikes are not unique to menstrual products. He explains that campus trading is often like festive periods, when traders raise prices to maximize profits while school is in session. 

For students like Kemisola, those seasonal hikes carry a personal cost that goes beyond money. Many rarely talk about not having enough money to buy pad because of the shame, embarrassment and stigma surrounding menstruation. She bottles everything up, which makes her lose focus in class and fuels her anxiety. 

A 2024 UNICEF report estimates that one in ten Nigerian girls misses school due to period poverty — a problem worsened by the sharp rise in pad prices over the past five years. 

Survival strategies 

Some students like Kemisola turn to reusable pads despite discomfort, using them when they can’t afford the disposable ones. The same financial strain led Maryam Muhammad, a period poverty activist in Kano state, to start making reusable products. 

“We have come to a point where getting three meals a day is a problem so getting disposable sanitary pads every month when the prices are being constantly hiked is a challenge”, Muhammad said.

While Kemisola resorts to reusable pads when stranded, others take a different approach to cope with the high prices. Rofiat Abdullah, a 300-level student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University buys sanitary pads in bulk from home to last her a while, avoiding inflated campus prices and planning her  market visits outside of school more strategically. 

Seeking solutions 

The mounting complaints have reached student leadership. The Director of Welfare, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Student Union Caretaker Committee, Aminu Kalgo, said he plans to raise the issue of subsidizing sanitary pads in future union meetings. He noted that a meeting was held on July 31 with stall owners to discuss price regulation, and promised that proper measures will be taken to maintain affordability.

Reacting to this, Dr Audu noted that regulating vendor prices is not the university’s responsibility as sellers incur expenses to make products available. He, however, suggests that school authorities, student unions and faculty associations open their own outlets and sell at minimal profit margins to improve affordability. 

From Aminah in Ilorin to Kemisola in Malete, the story is the same, inflation and campus markups are turning an essential hygiene product into a luxury many female students can barely afford.