Menstrual poverty remains a silent crisis affecting millions of girls across Africa and beyond. While conversations around gender equality, education, and economic empowerment grow louder, the harsh reality is that many girls still miss school, face stigma, and suffer health complications simply because they cannot access basic menstrual hygiene products.
The Reality of Menstrual Poverty
According to UNESCO, 1 in 10 African girls misses school during their period, leading to nearly 20% of the school year lost. In some communities, this figure is even higher due to a lack of access to sanitary products, inadequate hygiene facilities, and deep-rooted cultural taboos surrounding menstruation. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that globally, over 500 million women and girls experience period poverty, lacking access to menstrual hygiene products, education, and safe sanitation.
Ending period poverty requires urgent, collective action to ensure that every girl can manage her period with dignity, without compromising her education or well-being. Key solutions include:
Providing free or affordable menstrual products in schools and communities.
Teaching menstrual health education to break stigmas and ensure young girls understand their bodies.
Encouraging local production of reusable sanitary pads to create sustainable and long-term solutions.
Improving sanitation facilities in schools and public spaces so girls have safe, hygienic places to manage their periods.
Triple A Foundation’s Fight Against Period Poverty
Through initiatives like Pad a Girl Campaign and Flow for All, Triple A Foundation is actively working to keep girls in school and end the shame surrounding menstruation.
The Pad a Girl Campaign has hosted workshops in Malawi, empowering 30 girls to make their own reusable pads. During International Menstrual Hygiene Day, the campaign distributed menstrual products to over 200 girls in Winneba.
Flow for All raised awareness and provided donations to persons with disabilities at Akropong School for the Blind, ensuring that menstrual hygiene is accessible to everyone, regardless of their circumstances.
Period Poverty Should Not Exist in 2025
No girl should have to choose between her education and her period. The fight to end period poverty is a fight for gender equality, human dignity, and the future of young girls across the world. By breaking the silence, providing access, and ensuring education, we can create a world where menstruation is no longer a barrier, but a natural part of life that every girl can manage with dignity.
It’s time to take action because periods don’t stop, and neither should a girl’s future!
No girl should have to choose between her education and her period. The fight to end period poverty is a fight for gender equality, human dignity, and the future of young girls across the world. By breaking the silence, providing access, and ensuring education, we can create a world where menstruation is no longer a barrier, but a natural part of life that every girl can manage with dignity.
