WUNRN
MENSTRUAL HYGIENE SHOULD BE
INTEGRATED INTO SOCIAL PROGRAMS, AID, DEVELOPMENT
NAIROBI,
19 December 2012 (IRIN) - Menstrual hygiene issues should be integrated into
programmes and policies across sectors, including water, sanitation and
hygiene, reproductive health, emergency management, and education, notes a new
report. Currently, taboos surrounding menstruation leave many girls and women
in low- and middle-income countries without access to sanitation facilities and
excluded from school and opportunities.
The report, ‘Menstrual hygiene matters’, by Wateraid,
illustrates good menstrual hygiene-related policies and interventions, and
provides modules and toolkits on topics such as sanitary materials; working
with communities; providing sanitary facilities in schools and emergency
situations; and aiding girls and women in vulnerable, marginalized or special
circumstances. It also advocates further research and monitoring on these
issues.
“Unfortunately, the silence and stigma surrounding menstruation makes finding
solutions for menstrual hygiene management a low priority,” says Catarina De
Albuquerque, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking
water and sanitation, in the report’s foreword.
About 52 percent of the female population is of reproductive age. Yet in many
cultures, menstruation means seclusion or even dietary restrictions. A lack of private
hygiene facilities in schools fuels absenteeism among girls, and menstruation can be used to bar women from some jobs.
“Reports have suggested links between poor menstrual hygiene and urinary or
reproductive tract infections and other illnesses,” adds the report, noting
that “the impact of poor menstrual hygiene on the psychosocial well-being of
women and girls (e.g., stress levels, fear and embarrassment, and social
exclusion during menstruation) should also be considered”.
Men and boys have important roles in helping girls and women by, for example,
providing funds for sanitary materials and challenging taboos and stigma. But
they are often restricted by culture. “Our husbands don’t look at us... They
only give us five days free from sex,” an interviewee from Nigeria says in the
report.
________________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: WUNRN ListServe
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2012 11:02 AM
Subject: Menstrual Hygiene Matters - Report
WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 352-Page 2012
Report: