Menstrual Hygiene Day is a global awareness day that seeks to highlight the significance of menstrual hygiene management and raise awareness on challenges faced in a bid to access information, menstrual products and proper disposal of the same. The day is commemorated on the 28th of May every year because menstrual cycles average 28 days in length and people menstruate an average of five days each month (May is the fifth month of the year).

The space of menstrual health, in many communities in Kenya, has long been clouded by stigma, taboo informed by socio-cultural beliefs, sextortion and lack of access to menstrual products and proper disposal of the used menstrual products. A situational analysis that was commissioned by the Ministry of Health revealed the issues bedeviling women and girls in a bid to access proper Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). Some girls admitted to transactional sex for pads, inability to afford menstrual products, lack of information on MHM and poor sanitation facilities leading to improper disposal of sanitary products. Consequently, this directly infringes on fundamental human rights of women and girls collectively: right to education, right to sanitation.

In a bid to address the gaps in Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) through the SRHR Youth Champions Network, we mobilized resources to support the respective youth organizations deliver on their mandates while improving access to menstrual hygiene management products. Through the support of friends, partners and networks we were able to raise Kshs. 33,450 towards this.

To read more about this, read the comprehensive report below

Report compiled by Marion Otieno, Programs Assistant Intern, Ryculture Health and Social Innovation