Period poverty is the lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints, this can be caused by a wide range of life events that negatively impact on a girl or woman’s ability to access sanitary products to manage a most intimate and regular occurrence in her life.”
Period poverty refers to the inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and educations, including but not limited to sanitary products, washing facilities, and waste management. Through menstrual health education and advocacy, we can greatly improve access to hygiene facilities and products, reduce stigma and shame, and encourage education about menstruation.
Periods are often associated with shame and stigma, as well as poor menstruation education. Around the world, girls of school age miss school while menstruating due to lack of access to sanitary products, washing facilities, and waste management in addition to cultural or social stigma that they may face. In many other countries, 2 out of 3 girls may avoid school because they have not been educated about their period.
For many, periods are simply an inconvenience, perhaps accompanied by a slew of uncomfortable symptoms like PMS, bloating and cramps. But for millions of other girls and women in the Nigeria, however, the situation is much more severe.
The average woman spends 2,535 days of her life menstruating. She has no choice in the matter — it is simply biology. So, regardless of her financial or social situation, she must purchase or otherwise obtain access to enough menstrual resource to bleed for nearly seven years of her life.
Transactional sex is also common among girls of school age. That sort of thing may seem unfathomable to a lot of people — selling your body just to be able to afford a sanitary pad. However, if you are homeless and the clothes on your back are the only clothes that you own, bleeding through them is simply not an option for many girls and women living in poverty.
The livelihoods of many poor resourced families have already been made worse by the pandemic and are likely to be for some time to come. The International Labout Organization expects working hours to decline by 7 percent in 2020 and beyond we dare day, equivalent to the loss of at least 195 million jobs worldwide. The pandemic is expected to push 40-60 million more children into extreme poverty with disastrous consequences for girl child education.
“The fact that there are girls from poor households who aren’t able to afford these products, and as a result, may miss school, may miss work, face certain stigma — I think it’s a human rights issue that, in Nigeria, girls of school age and women should not have to be dealing with.
Menstrual Health & Hygiene Management is vital aspect of every girl or woman’s life and it defines the practice of being able to manage your period safely. UNICEF and the World Health Organisation defined MHM in 2014 as the use of clean material to absorb or collect blood, which can be changed privately as often as necessary, being able to use soap and water for washing and access to disposal. While this definition covers the practical resource and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs for MHH, it does not focus on the need to address underlying educational challenges and stigmas that perpetuate period poverty. An approach that incorporates both gender sensitive WASH facilities and addresses negative gender norms can accelerate our progress towards reaching the SDGs.
Ø Menstrual Health & Hygiene for The Girl Child: A Human Rights Issue.
With almost 100 million of Nigeria population living in abject poverty, the reality is that many girls of school age and women across the world lack access to adequate resources and WASH facilities to manage their menstrual health safely. Many girls use unhygienic menstrual management materials, which can cause health issues, and often, public spaces such as schools lack adequate latrines and gender sensitive WASH facilities. The negative impact of this on girls’ ability to participate in their education demonstrates how MHM is a global human rights issue, deeply connected to cross-cutting development issues. Period poverty has negative impacts on health, education, gender equality, productivity and if not addressed perpetuates existing inequalities. No girl should have to miss school or at worst drop out due to a lack of access to sanitary materials or adequate WASH facilities that allow for safe and dignified menstrual management.
The ability of girls and women to manage their periods is affected by a plurality of factors such as knowledge and beliefs about menstruation, access to affordable and hygienic sanitary materials and disposal options. If these elements are not adequately addressed, it often results in many girls and women managing their menstruation in unsanitary ways. In some rural areas within Nigeria, women and girls use a ‘traditional pad’, which uses cow dung as the absorbent material. In other instances, girls have sat on sand piles during their menses as they do not have access to affordable sanitary materials.
Studies has showed that girls had restrictions placed on them during their periods such as not playing with males, not being able to cook as well as restrictions on movement including not attending school in some cases.
The impact of this on female education is huge. Some statistics show how secondary school completion rates are higher for boys than girls and this has been linked to ineffective menstrual management and stigmas that still surround menstruation. It was thought that many girls decide not to go to school when they are menstruating for various reasons including fear of being embarrassed if or when they soil their clothes, lack of adequate and appropriate sanitary materials and lack of adequate WASH facilities.
Ø Teamcoby-Nigeria’s Pragmatic Approach to Addressing This Challenge.
A holistic approach to MHM is needed to ensure all angles of this issue are addressed.
Teamcoby-Nigeria, a social enterprise focused on advocacy, community mobilization and engagement through projects that cuts across education, health, environment and livelihood support in low income communities, has been championing sustainable menstruation and hygiene management. The organization produces Eco Reusable Menstrual Pad to fight period poverty, support girl child education, reduce menstrual inequality, combat environmental/ plastic pollution, a major climate change crisis globally and reduce the undue financial burden that girls and women bear due to menstruation
Teamcoby Nigeria is committed to ending period and water poverty, promotion of WASH and distribution of #Eco Reusable sanitary pads and building a better world where every girl is empowered to stay in school, chase her dreams and unlock her greatest potential.
Our goal is to reach out to 5000 girls with Eco Reusable Pad kits and menstrual health education by December 31st. With your bulk purchases, referrals, partnerships, donations and grants we will make this happen.
Eco Reusable pad kits are sustainable menstrual products to ensure girls and women can manage their period safely. In schools, access to private and safe places to change sanitary products with WASH and disposal facilities are vital. School environments with safe WASH facilities that are gender and culturally sensitive are essential to enable girls to manage their period with dignity and actively participate in school.
- Eco Reusable pads has the following features for convenience and comfort; Leak proof
- Breathable Super thin Protective wings
- High absorption rate
- Easy to use
- Minimum reuse period of 24 months Sundries easily
- Chemicals and plastic free.
- Simple wash with ordinary water and any detergent or soap. Biodegradable
TeamcobyNigeria welcomes enquiries and partnerships with well-meaning individuals, nonprofits, foundations and businesses keen on supporting girl child education and empowering more households with our revolutionary Eco Reusable Menstrual Pads.