A Coalition of CSOs against Sanitary Pads Taxation has called on government to end taxes on sanitary pads against adolescent girls and women in Ghana.
This, according to the Coalition, is “unjust” and “immoral”.
“The Government of Ghana presently charges a luxury tax of 20% and an additional 12.5% VAT on sanitary pads. The fact that this tax is directly targeted at females for a natural occurrence in their reproductive process they have no choice or control over makes the tax high unjust and immoral.”
A statement signed by the 14-member Coalition to mark International Day of the Girl said taxes on sanitary pads have made the product expensive and inaccessible. Read Statement Here.
“The taxes on sanitary pads have made the product very expensive and inaccessible to many low-income households who must choose between the pads and competing needs.”
According to the Coalition, “this situation has dire consequences for life outcomes for girls.”
The statement issued on Monday, October 11, urged government to address this “injustice in the forthcoming 2022 budget”.
It added that Ghana should follow examples of other countries that have cancelled taxes on sanitary pads.
“Ghana can and should follow the example of Kenya which cancelled taxes on sanitary pads as far back as 2004 and which has since been budgeting about $3M per year to distribute free sanitary pads in low-income communities. Since then, Rwanda and South Africa have also cancelled sanitary pads taxes.”
