Haruna Iddrisu’s Straight-Faced Reaction Sparks Social Media Buzz as Ato Forson Announces GH¢295M Free Sanitary Pad Allocation
Minister of Education and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has become a major talking point on social media following his stoic facial expression during the presentation of the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
As Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson announced that the government had earmarked GH¢295 million to fund the nationwide distribution of free sanitary pads to schoolgirls, live cameras captured Iddrisu maintaining a completely straight, expressionless face, quickly triggering widespread online reactions and commentary.
The GH¢295 million allocation forms part of the Ministry of Education’s overall GH¢48 billion budgetary vote—within a projected total government expenditure of GH¢389 billion for 2027—aimed at boosting girls’ participation in school and removing menstrual-related barriers to education.
The Free Sanitary Pad Initiative was originally launched in Accra in April 2025 to fulfill President John Dramani Mahama’s State of the Nation Address pledge. By October 2025, the Ghana Education Service (GES) had outlined plans to distribute over 6.6 million sanitary pads monthly to basic and second-cycle female students across all 16 regions so no girl misses classes during her period.
Despite the substantial funding commitment in the 2027 fiscal policy, the budget statement did not provide specific operational metrics, omitting details on the exact number of projected beneficiaries, total pad quantities to be procured, unit costs, or the upcoming distribution schedule.
Source: Thepressradio.com
