The Ministry of Education’s audit of suppliers under the Free Sanitary Pad Initiative has brought renewed attention to Softcare FM Manufacturing Limited, one of the companies whose products have been distributed to schools.
During a February 11 visit to Softcare’s Accra facility, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu announced a full-scale review of pads supplied under the programme, following complaints about quality. He declared “zero tolerance” for substandard products and warned that contractors must meet minimum standards.
But as the audit proceeds, questions have followed the company from beyond Ghana’s borders.
The Senegal Question
In December 2025, Senegal’s Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (ARP) issued a formal letter ordering the withdrawal of all products manufactured by a company operating under the Softcare name. According to the letter, an inspection at a factory in Sindia, Thiès Region, found “expired raw materials in the manufacturing circuit” of products intended for babies, children, and women. Commercialisation was suspended for public health reasons.
Similar consumer complaints have since emerged elsewhere in the region. In Kenya and Cameroon, women have taken to social media to report itching, rashes, and irritation after using Softcare products.
Softcare Ghana’s Response
Softcare FM Manufacturing Limited in Ghana has firmly denied any connection to the Senegalese entity. Company officials state that despite the shared brand name, the two businesses are separate in ownership, management, and operations.
Abigail Mansa Otoo, Regulatory Lead for Sunda International — the parent group associated with Softcare Ghana — told journalists that products manufactured at the Accra facility meet required safety and durability standards. She noted that the company operates in accordance with regulatory guidelines and that since operations began in Ghana, no formal quality complaints have been officially recorded.
According to Ms. Otoo, Softcare only began supplying under the Free Sanitary Pad Initiative in December 2025.
Import documentation reviewed by this newspaper indicates that raw materials for the Ghana operation are sourced through the parent group’s procurement systems — the same structured supplier arrangements used across multiple countries where Sunda International operates.
Questions That Remain
If Softcare Ghana and Softcare Senegal are separate entities, what explains the shared brand name and parent group? If raw materials are sourced through a central procurement system for multiple countries, what oversight exists to ensure that materials reaching Ghana meet standards different from those flagged in Senegal? And given consumer complaints in Kenya and Cameroon involving the same brand, what independent verification has been conducted on products distributed to Ghanaian schoolgirls?
The company has offered its explanations. Regulators may accept them. But the Senegal letter exists. The inspector’s allegations are on the public record. And consumers across the region have raised concerns.
