Resources for media

From Berlin to Mumbai and Kampala to Mexico City, poor menstrual health and hygiene is a global problem. Around the world, millions of women and girls* are excluded, stigmatised and shamed because of their periods. Myths and taboos about periods harm all of us, whether we menstruate or not.

‍

28 May is Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day), the annual global day of awareness and action to create a world where no one is held back because they menstruate by 2030. Here are five things you need to know about why in 2024, this day is more important than ever.

‍

1 It’s a global problem.

‍

500 million women and girls worldwide don’t have what they need to manage their periods safely, hygienically and without shame¹. This is due to a combination of lack of access to period products, lack of education about menstruation and inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure. The persisting taboos and stigma around menstruation are the root cause that underpins all these issues. If we can’t talk openly about periods, we can’t effectively address these challenges.

‍

2 Period stigma has far-reaching effects, for all of us.

‍

Menstruation-related challenges have a severe negative impact on the health, educational and income-earning opportunities, and the overall social status of women and girls. In turn, this affects families, communities and entire countries. Management consulting firm Kearney estimates the economic damage resulting from women and girls around the world missing out on education and job opportunities amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars each year².

‍

3 MH Day partners take a multifaceted approach.

‍

The MH Day movement consists of over 1000 partners, all tackling different aspects of the problem. Focus areas include:

• providing access to good quality menstrual products,
• educating school children about menstruation,
• campaigns to change negative social norms,
• policy advocacy, including the removal or reduction of taxes on period products,
• ensuring that marginalised groups, such as people with disabilities and refugees, have what they need for good MHH,
• and much more.

4 Change is happening.

‍

Collectively, we’re making significant progress. The collective reach of the Menstrual Hygiene Day campaign has grown from reaching just over 20 million people in 2014 to 705 million people in 2023. And in the same period, media coverage of MH Day has increased 200-fold.

‍

There is ongoing change at the policy level. In April 2023, the Indian Supreme Court asked the federal government to create a national policy for managing menstrual hygiene for girls in schools³. Period products are now available for free in educational institutions in countries such as New Zealand⁴, France⁵, Australia⁶, in several US states⁷,  as will as in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa⁸. In addition Zimbabwe and Brasil⁹ menstrual hygiene management education will soon become a part of school curricula. Several countries worldwide reduced or removed taxes on menstrual products¹⁰.  
In February 2023, Spain approved a bill enabling workers to take menstrual leave if they experience severe menstrual pain¹¹. While the Spanish example is the first in Europe, Japan, Indonesia and several other Asian countries have had similar policies in place for some time¹².

‍

5 More investment is needed. Urgently.

‍

Due to the work of MH Day partners, societal awareness of the challenges related to menstrual health and hygiene has grown dramatically. And it has become a much higher political priority in many countries across the globe. We already have the technical solutions, and there are hundreds of committed organisations willing to step up their efforts. We are convinced that it is possible to create a world where no one is held back because they menstruate by 2030. The current funding available¹³ is focussing mostly on the provision of menstrual products. However, without a significant increase in funding, the movement will fall short of its goal. As a result, millions of women and girls worldwide will be kept from achieving their full potential.