Aug 31, 2017

This article was written by Anna Druet, researcher and science and education manager at Clue. Clue is a company located in Berlin that has released a period tracking app for smartphones connecting feminine health with technology. This article explains what menstruation is and describes the physiological processes that occur in menstruating women. This article is helpful because it provides an explanation of what women and girls around the world experience and suggests why access to feminine hygiene products is so essential.

May 28, 2016

This article, released by the Lwala Community Alliance, contributes lack of resources to girls in East Africa to dropping out of school. The high expense of sanitary hygiene products contributes to 40 out of 100 girls in the Lwala community (Migouri County of Southwestern Kenya) dropping out of school before 9th grade. The Lwala Community Alliance provided girls in 6th through 8th grade with pad kits containing reusable pads, soap, underwear, and educational materials in attempt to get girls back into school. The article also describes the lengths girls must go to get access to feminine hygiene products. In an interview with an 8 year old girl she explains, “the daughter [is] vulnerable to seek assistance from other sources like motorbike riders, who could give 50 cents for either a pair of underwear or a sanitary pad. Later the girl pays him by having sex in exchange.”

Jun 26, 2016

This article highlights the physical and psychological consequences of menstruation of women in low-income settings. The stigma and taboo surrounding menstruation contributes to this global issue being overlooked. In some countries, the shame of having their period or staining their uniform keeps girls from attending school. Access to feminine hygiene products is low, mainly because the cost is more than most families make in one day. The article describes how school-aged girls will sometimes resort to engaging in transactional sex to obtain sanitary pads. There are solutions however the article suggests the taboo surrounding the topic prevents an inflow of support.

Dignity Period, a nonprofit organization who focuses on menstrual hygiene health in rural Ethiopia, shares five key concepts to be familiar with when it comes to menstrual hygiene management around the world. The five concepts are: “(1) menstruation is heavily stigmatized, (2) many women and girls do not have access to feminine hygiene products to use when on their periods, (3) lack of access to menstrual hygiene facilities - like private bathrooms - discriminates against women, (4) many girls are terrified by their period, (5) not only women: male education about menstrual hygiene is a key piece of the puzzle to changing social to stigma around menstruation.”

Mar 29, 2013

The barriers to education for girls in low-income countries are described by this article as inadequate water and sanitation facilities. This article explains how a natural monthly occurrence such as menstruation can have devastating consequences for girls’ education and that a serious intervention is long overdue. They describe how inadequate water and sanitation facilities do not allow women and girls to maintain dignity, privacy and sanitation. In addition to lack of access to proper water and toilet facilities, there are usually not receptacles for used sanitary items to be disposed of. In conclusion, this article explains that in order for progress to occur, there must be programming and collaboration among urban planners, community management and social scientists.

Apr 26, 2016

This article reviews the effectiveness of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) on health and psycho social factors. The article reviewed 11 articles that looked at associations between MHM, social restrictions and school attendance. The article concludes that MHM practices are significantly difficult to implement for low income women. In addition, the cultural climate surrounding girls and women affect how menstrual hygiene is managed.

Jan 01, 2020

Partly because of the Trump administration’s drastic cuts to humanitarian aid, refugee women and girls will be significantly impacted when it comes to menstrual hygiene management. This article describes how menstruation, a natural monthly occurrence, can be particularly devastating for women and girls with no access to sanitary products, clean water and sanitation facilities.  In addition to issues such as lack of adequate access to toilets and overcrowding that affect refugees, myths and taboo ideas surrounding menstruation run rampant in the camps. Two girls share what they’ve heard of menstruation in the article. One of these girls shares, “You must dry your underwear and pads in secret. People may steal it for witchcraft. This can cause you infertility.”

Sep 18, 2015

This report describes the unsanitary methods some girls must resort to when sanitary items such as pads, tampons, or cups are not accessible: “old clothes, saris, tissues, cotton wool, bark, dry leaves, straw or newspapers secured using string or other methods (House et al 2012, pp. 65-66).” The prospect of reusable technologies to support menstruation such as reusable pads or menstrual cups are discussed. Despite the benefits such has lower cost over time, there are some barriers: “initial higher cost of purchase, learning costs, and psychological barriers to insertion (Hoffman et al 2014).” There were several key findings in this report such as the neglect of menstrual hygiene management as a priority, benefits and barriers of reusable products, and the lack of formal evaluations of interventions seeking to provide solutions.

Oct 01, 2017

Jessica Archibold Maxwell, program officer for WaterAid discusses the role toilets, clean water, and sanitation have on menstrual hygiene management in Nicaragua where over 2 million people have no access to proper sanitation. In a country where the majority of people do not have access to toilets or running water, Maxwell says that young girls suffer the most. She states, “guaranteeing access to clean water, private toilets and good hygiene in schools represents the greatest opportunity we have to bring about change and transformation for girls.”

Feb 10, 2016

This research article describes the “effectiveness of menstruation management interventions in improving women and girls’ education, work and psycho social well being.” The researchers assessed eight studies focusing on education and the provision of sanitary products in order to measure the effects of menstrual hygiene management implementation on girls  in low income countries. In this study, there was insufficient evidence to support that MHM interventions had any effect on girls’ performance at school and work. However they suggest that further research must take place to effectively measure education performance, employment and other psycho social outcomes.