By Kelvin Mokaya
When girls and women have access to safe and affordable sanitary materials to manage their menstruation, they decrease their risk of infections. This can have cascading effects on overall sexual and reproductive health, including reducing teen pregnancy, maternal outcomes, and fertility.
Lack of access to period products can occur due to financial and physical barriers. Prices of period products have put these vital supplies out of reach for many people in the country. For example, while the Kenyan government eliminated taxes on menstruation products and supplies sometime back, studies have shown that “over one in two girls and women report they have occasionally had to miss out on an activity because of their period and concerns about a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products.”
People in vulnerable situations are affected most by period poverty (lack of access to menstrual and sanitary supplies, menstrual hygiene education, and waste management) including people already facing homelessness, low income, and systemic exclusion for being members of marginalized groups. Folks in vulnerable situations may need to sacrifice meager food budgets or cope with negative health issues due to a lack of accessible period products and sanitary facilities.
Physical health risks increase when safe sanitation facilities, such as toilets and hand washing areas, are difficult to access or non-existent—another complication which is likely to be faced by the poor or marginalized. These facilities are still too rare across the country. People who menstruate are forced to use inadequate materials to build makeshift products or use period products for a prolonged time—in both cases, increasing the chance of reproductive and urinary tract infections among other harmful outcomes.
Individuals also face period poverty due to social and cultural stigmas, misinformation, and gender discrimination around periods.
Right now, 800 million people around the world are menstruating, with many trying to hide the evidence of bleeding or struggling to find sanitary supplies. Secrecy, shame, and stigma burden people who menstruate. About 65% of menstruating people in Kenya are unable to afford sanitary pads.
To decrease period poverty, menstrual products need to be made more affordable and accessible. Menstrual hygiene and education also need to be taken more seriously by the government, decision makers, and educators. Our country’s sanitization and menstrual awareness need to improve.
In 2021, Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products free for anyone who needs them. Ideally, period products should be free for everyone in all spaces. This is something that key stakeholders in the country can implement through initiatives like the Glo’s Pad Bank initiated by Sen. Gloria Orwoba who is championing to end period poverty in the country. As we gear towards marking The Menstrual Hygiene Day on the 28th of May, this year’s theme being: Making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030, our understanding of menstruation needs to evolve if we are to meaningfully address this gap. Period poverty and menstruation are not just a woman’s rights issue. It is important to de-gender the language we use around periods and menstruation.
Kelvin Mokaya, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Advocate at NAYA
