Skip to content

Story and Perspective

Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022: Boosting Supplies and Support and Ending Stigma

Ethiopia Bangladesh

We believe everyone deserves to manage their periods safely, hygienically, and with dignity. We still need access to menstrual supplies even while navigating a global pandemic, even in places of conflict and crisis. From refugee camps in Bangladesh to schools in Ethiopia, we must continue providing access to menstrual supplies, supporting menstrual hygiene, and working to end the stigma around periods.

Menstrual Hygiene Day is a chance to bring together the voices and actions of non-profits, government agencies, individuals, and more to promote good menstrual health and hygiene for all women and girls.

Addressing Menstruation Stigma in Ethiopia

Pathfinder Act with Her staff, school staff, and health extension workers in the entryway to the new MHM building of the Yewiha Midir Primary School. Photo: Tricia Petruney

Pathfinder’s Act with Her project is part of a growing global movement of girls and changemakers who are advocating for better menstrual health and hygiene management, particularly during adolescence and within school environments. Puberty and menstruation education are core topics covered for the youngest adolescent participants, ages 10-14.

  • Going to School with Your Period: Stigmatizing or Supported?: Tricia Petruney, Pathfinder’s Act with Her Project Director, shares her personal experiences of not feeling supported during her adolescent years when it came to menstruation and how those same stigmas continue to effect adolescent girls in Ethiopia.
  • Menstruation Matters in Very Young Adolescents: Read how the Act with Her project highlights and addresses menstruation and menstrual hygiene on the frontlines. And learn what adolescents, mentors and frontline staff learned during educational sessions

Improving Menstrual Hygiene Management for Refugees in Bangladesh

Peer group session on menstrual hygiene management. Photo: Monira Hossain

“Now, I feel comfortable using the sanitary pads as I can feel free up to six hours… I also learned where to find the sanitary pads with their uses and menstrual hygiene. I proudly share the messages I learnt with my younger sister and some friends.” 

Jannaharu Bibi, 15, Participant

Since 2017, approximately 867,000 Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar and sought refuge in Bangladesh. Fifty-two percent of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar are women and girls. In an emergency and humanitarian setting such as this, women and girls have specific needs that are often unmet.

One of the most immediate—and least talked about—needs is support for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). For displaced women and girls, changes in their environment, social support networks, and socioeconomic status can impact their ability to manage menstruation. Insufficient access to sanitary supplies, latrines, and sanitary or disposal facilities challenge their safety and privacy. 

Learn how we addressed this issue through the implementation of our pilot project: Improving Menstrual Hygiene Management in Emergencies for Rohingya Adolescent Girls in Cox’s Bazar >>

More Stories

Local Nigerien Organizations Working to Reach Women and Girls in Fragile Settings

how MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience reaches communities in crisis In Niger, many communities are now out of reach for international…

Read More

Wrap-Up: World Contraception Day 2024 Webinar

Young women from Burkina Faso, Jordan, Mozambique share stories of reproductive rights and choice Last week, in honor of the…

Read More

From Policy to Practice: Revolutionizing Family Planning in Uganda

USAID/Uganda Family Planning Activity Celebrates World Contraception Day 2024 As we approach World Contraception Day 2024, Uganda faces a stark…

Read More

Working Across Communities and Sectors to Protect and Uplift Young Women and Girls

How a Pathfinder program in Mozambique is working with a variety of community partners to prevent child, early, and forced…

Read More

Working with the Private Sector to Build a World Where Women and Girls Thrive

Strong partnerships are behind everything we do at Pathfinder—our work with government to strengthen health systems, with local partners to…

Read More

Reflections on Women’s Role in Crisis: Climate Change and Security

Pathfinder International recently convened the “Regional Parliamentarian Meeting on Gender Empowerment and Green Economy” in Islamabad, Pakistan. During the forum,…

Read More

Low Dose, High Frequency: How a Clinical Mentoring Program Saves Women’s Lives in Democratic Republic of the Congo

About USAID PROSANI PROSANI USAID (USAID’s Integrated Health Program) focuses on six areas of health: maternal, newborn, and child health;…

Read More

Her Future, Her Choice

How a Pathfinder Program is Supporting Youth on International Youth Day – and, Every Day! Pathfinder’s Her Future, Her Choice…

Read More

Equity Must Be More Than a Buzzword 

Equity is at the foundation of Pathfinder’s work to strengthen resilient health systems, through lasting and trusted local partnerships, in…

Read More
Client holds HIV/AIDS treatment drugs.

Empowering Girls and Young Women: The Key to Achieving an AIDS-free Generation

This article first appeared in the MediaplanetUSA Living With HIV and AIDS campaign, which was published in USA Today and online on…

Read More

Clear Climate-health Connection Impacting Conditions for Women and Girls

This article first appeared in the Mediaplanet Global Resilience campaign, which was published in The New Scientist. The climate crisis is threatening…

Read More

South-South Learning is Key to Localization of Global Health

As we strengthen our locally led approaches to country programs and operations in every country where Pathfinder works, we must…

Read More