Thousands of sanitary pads are distributed every year, especially during the month of May, to mark the Menstrual Hygiene Day, which highlights the importance of proper management of menstrual hygiene.
Nevertheless, countless girls and women return to the traditional piece of cloth shortly after.
Organisations and activists supplying menstrual hygiene products for free are increasing, and so are campaigns, but period poverty remains a real challenge for women and girls from disadvantaged families.
In 2020, thousands of sanitary pads were pledged and supplied through the ‘I Matter Initiative’ and the ‘Free the period’ social media campaigns.
While this has been undoubtedly beneficial, vulnerable women cannot rely on one-off campaigns that come and go.
Other beneficial policies such as the "girl’s room” in schools only provide the products when children are at school, while on vacation, the girls go back to using pieces of cloth or other unhygienic items. Women who are not in school are also not targeted by this useful program.
In 2019, in a bid to ease the affordability of sanitary pads, the Government of Rwanda added them to the list of VAT-exempted goods, something that was highly welcomed. However, countless women still consider sanitary pads a luxury.
Different initiatives however, have shown that the problem of period poverty could have possible sustainable solutions, such as reusable sanitary pads which can last up to five years and even more, saving both money and the environment.
If companies manufacturing reusable washable sanitary pads were more subsidized, even one-time campaigns could solve the problem of period poverty in the long run.
A packet of reusable sanitary pads would help a girl with her menstrual hygiene in years, while a packet of disposable pads would barely last her a month.
Menstrual hygiene management can be managed by affordable and appropriate menstrual hygiene materials, information on good practices, and a supportive environment where they can manage menstruation without embarrassment or stigma, and reusable sanitary pads tick all the boxes.