2021 Seed Grant Award Problem Statements 

WASH / Water Management / Irrigation

Problem #15: Due to the taboos and period stigma, challenges around menstrual hygiene management (MHM) present an ongoing impediment [or barrier] to the basic health, wellbeing and educational opportunities for girls. Girl-friendly solutions are needed.

Country/Region of execution:  India
Collaborating Organization: Plan International USA
Plan International USA is a girls’ rights organization. Powered by supporters, Plan partners with adolescent girls and children around the world to overcome oppression and gender inequality, providing the support and resources that are unique to their needs and the needs of the communities, ensuring they achieve they full potential with dignity, opportunity and safety.  Plan programs reflect the priorities and needs of young people across their life cycle. Our holistic approach leverages learning and cross-sector programming as core strategies to tackle structural drivers such as poverty, gender inequality and education. Guided by local experts, in partnership with global health and development sector leaders, we embrace adaptive learning and leverage innovation as a core strategy for promoting equity and resilience.
Problem Statement Description: Girl friendly solutions are needed to address the enormous barriers that girls face with respect to menstrual hygiene management. Girls miss school and valuable socioemotional learning when they have their period due to a lack of access to girl friendly solutions to this challenge. This not only includes accessing clean, low cost and available pads but also having access to safe, hygienic, dignified management –either disposal or hygienic reuse. Taboos and stigma around the handling of used menstrual materials remains a real challenge. Plan addresses the educational and norms change challenge associated with period stigma. However, an engineering challenge persists as limited water and sanitation options present very real challenges for girl-friendly menstrual hygiene management. A low cost, co-creation solution would support girls to be able to access critical health and education related outcomes absent the barrier posed by girl-friendly MHM.