On Tuesday July 16, 2019, join organizers Columbia University and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for a webinar on the Menstrual Hygiene Management in Emergencies Toolkit. The webinar will take place from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST.
Discussion topics will include:
This blog originally appeared on PSI’s Impact Blog.
“Initially, many people tried to discourage me by saying that [plumbing] was a job for men,” Ayé Judith Bodou explains. “But I didn’t give up.”
The purpose of the mid-term performance evaluation of the Tajikistan Agriculture and Water Activity (TAWA), a Feed the Future (FTF) activity, was to compare what had been accomplished against intended results, including any management, financial, and cost-efficiency findings. TAWA, funded by USAID/Central Asia, is a four-and-a-half-year program (2016–2020) designed to improve the nutritional outcomes of women of reproductive age and children under the age of two by increasing the yields and economic returns of household plots in Khatlon region.
USAID recognizes that lack of access to safe sanitation facilities and sufficient water and supplies for hygiene, including for menstrual hygiene, disproportionately affect women and girls. As part of the the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019, USAID was required by Congress to include a report on its current sanitation and hygiene programs address these issues, including ensuring the availability of feminine hygiene products.
The Virtual Conference on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in Schools provides an opportunity to hear the latest research and programming on menstrual health and hygiene from around the world. The conference enables the global sharing of new ideas and essons learned, and connects people working on MHM in schools in a wide range of countries.
In some remote parts of Ghana, girls are told that crossing a river during their menstrual period will offend the river deity — so some skip school to avoid incurring the deity’s wrath. In some rural communities in western Nepal, menstruating women are told that their presence jeopardizes crops, water supply, and health — so they go into quarantine each month. In Afghanistan, some women are told that showering during menstruation causes infertility — so they spend their entire cycle without washing themselves.
Every May 28, Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) raises awareness and combats taboos associated with menstrual hygiene with the goal of enabling women and girls to achieve their full potential. The theme of Menstrual Hygiene Day 2019—It's Time for Action—not only emphasizes the urgency of this public health issue, but also highlights the transformative power of improved menstrual hygiene to unlock economic and educational opportunities for women and girls.
The month of March marked both World Water Day 2019 and Women’s History Month in the United States. This was a time for USAID and Gap Inc.’s Women and Water Alliance (W+W Alliance) to reflect on progress made and the role that the private sector plays in supporting women as leaders in the water sector.
Women+Water is a Global Development Alliance between USAID and Gap Inc. that is committed to improving and sustaining the health and well-being of women and communities touched by the apparel industry in India. This infographic illustrates some of the issues that USAID and Gap Inc. are addressing and how they are working fullfill their committment to women in India.
The annual virtual conference on MHM in schools provides a vital global platform for practitioners and policy makers to share ideas, discuss approaches to common problems, and to assess progress against the five priorities of the ‘MHM in Ten’ agenda. Now in its seventh year, the conference illustrated some of the successes and challenges we face if we are to realise the MHM in Ten priorities that will improve girls’ lives by 2024.
