Key Focus Areas
- GBV
- Social and cultural norms
- Education and skill training
- Maternal Health
- Drug abuse
- Menstrual Hygiene
- Mentorship
Challenge: Menstrual Health
In Uganda, many young girls face significant challenges in managing menstrual hygiene due to limited access to affordable sanitary products, inadequate sanitation facilities, and persistent cultural stigma. The New vision paper reported on the 2nd September 2019, that according to the Ministry of education and sports statistics, 23% of Ugandan girls in the age group of 12-18 drop out of school when they begin menstruation.
A meniscus report by Bio medical Centre also indicates that school absence in Uganda is at 28% during period days, compared to 7% during non-period days.
These barriers not only affect their health and dignity but also contribute to high rates of school absenteeism, most especially in rural areas. As a result, girls often find it had to excel academically in relation to their male counter parts and many drop out of school unwillingly.
Our Approach
The Bash Global Initiative has an initiative aimed at addressing menstrual hygiene challenges through a community-based approach that includes:
- Menstrual health education in schools and communities to break stigma and raise awareness amongst the young girls in school.
- Distribution of affordable, reusable sanitary products through local women’s groups and social enterprises to the different schools and local communities.
- Improvement of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in schools to ensure privacy and dignity, putting up structures in schools where young girls can comfortably take care of them selves during the menstrual days like private clean toilets.
- Engagement of boys, teachers, and parents to foster a supportive environment for girls during menstruation.
Goals and Objectives
- Increase access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products for girls in target communities and skills like sanitary pads, tampons, liners among others.
- Reduce school absenteeism among adolescent girls by improving menstrual health management support.
- Promote menstrual health education to empower girls and reduce stigma and misinformation more especially from the young boys in schools that take this as an abnormality.
- Strengthen school and community support systems to create a menstrual-friendly environment.