MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT PROJECT (MHP)

What is the name of your solution?

MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT PROJECT (MHP)

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

This project aims to positively impact 1000 schoolgirls in underserved communities by May17, 2024. It provides comprehensive support for menstrual hygiene management, addressing health needs and preventing recruitment into extremist groups. Through knowledge skills, like making reusable pad.

What is your solution?

These factors have been shown to result in disproportionally high absenteeism rates among adolescent girls in basic schools, affecting educational performance and the chance of entering and completing secondary school. 

Solution
The project responds to these challenges by building the capacity of schools and teachers to improve and uphold menstrual hygiene management among girls selected from deprived public schools in vulnerable communities. The project is executed through co-curricular education on menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls, Skills training in making reusable sanitary pads, setting up welfare counseling rooms, and conducting a series of community advocacy workshops.

What specific problem are you solving?

Menstruation is an integral and normal part of human life, indeed of human existence. Menstrual hygiene is fundamental to the dignity and well-being of women and girls and an important part of the basic hygiene, sanitation, and reproductive health services to which every woman and girl has a right. Globally, approximately 52% of the female population (26% of the total population) is of reproductive age. Most of these women and girls will menstruate each month, between two and seven days.

Nonetheless, menstruation is too often considered a taboo, and has many negative cultural attitudes associated with it, including the idea that menstruating women and girls are ‘contaminated’ ‘dirty’, and ‘impure’. Women and girls in rural settings and particularly adolescent girls in schools suffer most from stigma, lack of menstrual materials, facilities, and services to help them cope with the physical and psychological pains during menstrual periods. Other challenges both at the community and school level include.
inadequate preparations for the young girls who have not yet experienced menstruation, inadequate water to clean and wash the body, lack of private space and washrooms, and inappropriate facilities for disposal of materials for those who have used pads. In spite of these issues, menstrual hygiene management has been routinely ignored by professionals in the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.

 Currently, the means of coping for many adolescent girls is the use of old clothes, dirty napkins, and other un-hygiene materials which exposes them to infections and disorders. Within the context of Awutu Senya East, RAHE GHANA has started baseline surveys, preliminary meetings with stakeholders, and training adolescent girls to make reusable menstrual pads (RUMPS).
Whereas some adolescent girls have been provided pads ranging from sophisticated imported pads to locally manufactured pads by RECFAM and AfriPads, teachers often struggle to provide sanitary pads to the adolescent girls from their own means. Unfortunately, adolescent girls are subject to social stigma and a greater risk of sexual assault when they begin to menstruate, further marginalizing them. and threatening them within the school and community environment.

Our surveys have shown that a total of 70% of the girl pupils report missing. 

1-3 days of school sessions per month, which translates to a loss of 8 to 24 school days per year. This means that within a term an adolescent girl may miss up to 8 days of study. Representing around 250% of missed attendance due to menstruation. The majority of these girls note that they become physically. weak and can neither concentrate on their studies nor fully participate in community life due to the isolation and stigma associated with menstruation. 82 % of the head teachers note that the girls absent themselves from adolescence during their menstrual cycle; senior women teachers further noted that they calculate around 250% of the total number of girls dropping out of adolescence due to lack of menstrual materials and above all their schools do not have satisfying menstrual facilities.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Impact
1. Increased school completion rate among adolescent girls supported by this project.
2. Reduced stigma and isolation of girls from boys due to improved knowledge and understanding of menstrual hygiene.
3. Reduced school absenteeism; increased access to reusable sanitary pads
4. Confidence among adolescent girls to participate in school and community life. 

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

The project takes a fresh and creative approach to tackle menstrual hygiene challenges while also helping prevent girls from being lured into extremist groups. Many girls face health risks by using old or unsanitary materials during menstruation. What makes this project unique is its active engagement of girls in learning to make reusable sanitary pads – a new idea in the area. This practical skill empowers them to manage their menstrual health better and boosts their independence.

What really sets this initiative apart is its well-rounded approach. Girls not only learn the skill but also spread it within their homes and communities, creating a positive impact on hygiene practices. The project's special counseling room addresses emotional needs of menstruating girls during school, providing actual support beyond just information.
Furthermore, the project promotes fairness by educating boys about menstruation's normalcy, reducing stigma and creating a supportive atmosphere. This inclusion of boys enriches the project's impact.
In short, the project's innovation lies in teaching practical skills, providing tangible resources, and involving both girls and boys in promoting menstrual hygiene. 

The project will benefit from the oversight support of the Awutu Senya East Municipal Education Office to ensure that it intended activities are fully accomplished. The project has elements of sustainability which will guarantee continuity even when the project has officially ended. These include the transfer of skills in making local made reusable sanitary pads at, school, household and community level, the stakeholder and community.
involvement in knowledge sharing on menstrual hygiene management; and the establishment of welfare counseling rooms in each of the schools will boost teaching and learning on reproductive and sexual health in the beneficiary schools. 

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

In what country is your solution team headquartered?

• Ghana

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model that is rolled out in one or more communities

How many people does your solution currently serve?

❑ Through our flagship menstrual hygiene management project earmarked for 8500 adolescent
girls in the Awutu Senya East And Assin North Municipal, we are actively working to address
barriers often faced by adolescent girls in the school environment by providing safe spaces for
the girls to acquire the skills of sewing the reusable sanitary pads.
❑ We also sensitize them on resourceful knowledge and information on issues surrounding menstruation
and the need to prevent premarital and unsafe sex.
❑ Under the Menstrual Hygiene Project we have set up menstrual facilities across 55 basic
schools for girls to safely manage menstruation during school hours, thus leading to a more
supportive school environment ready for girls to be educated, respected and heard.

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Afariwah Hammida Efe