Menstrual Hygiene Management

Tackling social taboos to empower young women

Tackling social taboos to empower young women

Millions of girls around the world lack adequate information about menstruation. Taboos and stigma surrounding menstruation bread fear and shame. They put girls' health at risk and negatively affect their education, as many miss several school days per month or drop out completely once they reach puberty.

Education about menstruation and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) is critical to empower girls to manage their menstruation safely, hygienically, and with confidence. For this reason Common Goal has teamed up with WASH United to develop, test and implement a Menstrual Hygiene Management Education Guide.

The project provides the opportunity to implement the education guide in communities around the world, and to better understand and measure the impact of the guide especially when it comes to the knowledge, attitudes and practices of girls around menstrual hygiene.

The project kicked off in 2018 in India, reaching 3,000 girls on its first year, and approximately 2 Million girls in 15,000 schools by 2020. The second phase of the project kicked off in Uganda in July 2019 and continued throughout the year 2020 in the East Africa region.

Due to the pandemic, efforts were dedicated to launching an online platform. Since launching in late 2021, a total of 86 new organisations have used the online guide in their own programming, totaling the number of organisations using the MHM curriculum to 93

The Goal

A world where menstruation doesn't limit girls‘ and women‘s capacity to achieve their full potential.

The Strategy

To use football as a tool to create a learning environment and support system where girls can learn how to manage their period safely and with confidence.

How it Works

With the help of an exciting story and through different activities, girls gain essential knowledge about good menstrual hygiene.

Challenge

630 million girls will experience their first period in the next 10 years. More than half won't have enough information to manage it safely and with confidence.
Lack of information
More than half of them will not have enough information to manage their period safely and with confidence.
Societal Taboos
Misconceptions around menstruation and source of bleeding. Cultural taboos restricting girls‘ social interaction.
Missing School
Girls report missing school regularly due to menstrual hygiene issues.

Solution

Tackling the taboos, silence and lack of information surrounding menstruation that prevent girls and young women from fully and equally participating in society, by:
Educating girls on MHM
Informing young women on how to manage their periods hygienically and make informed decisions on their sexual reproductive health.
Using football to build trust
Training and supporting teachers, coaches and community workers in addressing a sensitive and often taboo topic in a fun and empowering way.
Implementing MHM Education Guide
Empowering girls to act with confidence around their periods and to pursue opportunities that open up perspectives for their future.

Impact

Girls around the world understand better how to manage their periods and create their own support systems through team play and trust circles.
Gaining confidence
Girls gain confidence on how to manage their periods safely, how their body changes during puberty and how to support each other.
Reaching more communities
More organisations have access to the MHM Education Guide and are able to offer MHM trainings to their participants.
Global scalability
The MHM Education Guide is freely available online to scale the spread of MHM knowledge through football
Challenge
630 million girls will experience their first period in the next 10 years. More than half won't have enough information to manage it safely and with confidence.
Lack of information
More than half of them will not have enough information to manage their period safely and with confidence.
Societal Taboos
Misconceptions around menstruation and source of bleeding. Cultural taboos restricting girls‘ social interaction.
Missing School
Girls report missing school regularly due to menstrual hygiene issues.
Solution
Tackling the taboos, silence and lack of information surrounding menstruation that prevent girls and young women from fully and equally participating in society, by:
Educating girls on MHM
Informing young women on how to manage their periods hygienically and make informed decisions on their sexual reproductive health.
Using football to build trust
Training and supporting teachers, coaches and community workers in addressing a sensitive and often taboo topic in a fun and empowering way.
Implementing MHM Education Guide
Empowering girls to act with confidence around their periods and to pursue opportunities that open up perspectives for their future.
Impact
Girls around the world understand better how to manage their periods and create their own support systems through team play and trust circles.
Gaining confidence
Girls gain confidence on how to manage their periods safely, how their body changes during puberty and how to support each other.
Reaching more communities
More organisations have access to the MHM Education Guide and are able to offer MHM trainings to their participants.
Global scalability
The MHM Education Guide is freely available online to scale the spread of MHM knowledge through football
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