Attention to menstrual hygiene management in schools: An analysis of education policy documents in low- and middle-income countries

Sommer, Marni; Figueroa, Chantal; Kwauk, Christina; Jones, Meredith; Fyles, Nora

doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.09.008

Cited by 29 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…developed menstrual hygiene policies. Some, such as Kenya and the Philippines, have focused on school environments; others, such as India and Nepal, have a broader focus, including workplaces and ASRHR [198]. In addition, some countries, such as Kenya and South Africa, are providing free sanitary products in schools, and others have developed girls' puberty books with the aim of reducing the fear, confusion, and shame that many girls experience when they begin menstruating, building their knowledge about the changes happening in their bodies, and breaking the silence between girls, teachers, and parents/caregivers on the topic [199].…”

Section: Menstrual Hygiene and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political, Research, Programmatic, and Social Responses to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the 25 Years Since the International Conference on Population and Development

Chandra-Mouli

Ferguson²,

Plesons

et al. 2019

Journal of Adolescent Health

104

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Among the groundbreaking achievements of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was its call to place adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) on global health and development agendas. This article reviews progress made in low-and middle-income countries in the 25 years since the ICPD in six areas central to ASRHdadolescent pregnancy, HIV, child marriage, violence against women and girls, female genital mutilation, and menstrual hygiene and health. It also examines the ICPD's contribution to the progress made. The article presents epidemiologic levels and trends; political, research, programmatic and social responses; and factors that helped or hindered progress. To do so, it draws on research evidence and programmatic experience and the expertise and experiences of a wide number of individuals, including youth leaders, in numerous countries and organizations. Overall, looking across the six health topics over a 25-year trajectory, there has been great progress at the global and regional levels in putting adolescent health, and especially adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, higher on the agenda, raising investment in this area, building the epidemiologic and evidence-base, and setting norms to guide investment and action. At the national level, too, there has been progress in formulating laws and policies, developing strategies and programs and executing them, and engaging communities and societies in moving the agenda forward. Still, progress has been uneven across issues and geography. Furthermore, it has raced ahead sometimes and has stalled at others. The ICPD's Plan of Action contributed to the progress made in ASRH not just because of its bold call in 1994 but also because it provided a springboard for advocacy, investment, action, and research that remains important to this day.

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Section: Menstrual Hygiene and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political, Research, Programmatic, and Social Responses to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the 25 Years Since the International Conference on Population and Development

Chandra-Mouli

Ferguson²,

Plesons

et al. 2019

Journal of Adolescent Health

104

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“…This paper attempts to respond to this question, using evidence from fog water installations across the globe and by exploring the effects of similar water-related projects. Empirical evidence from fog water collection projects shows that the positive physical and social outcomes for women and girls may include: (1) A drastic decrease in the time previously spent on water collection from far distances, resulting in the freeing of time for domestic and educational pursuits in fog collection areas; an increase in school attendance by girls; and the establishment of female cooperatives to promote home-made products resulting in economic independence [11,[21][22][23][24][25]; (2) improved health outcomes through immediate decrease in the use of contaminated water collected previously from polluted water sources and access to, and use of, better quality water collected from fog leading to a decrease in water-borne diseases and improvement in health and wellness [3,9,19,[26][27][28][29][30][31]; and (3) improved perceptions of self and position within the community through self-confidence, gender equality, recognition of women's contribution and shared ownership of the female segment of the community in fog collection systems [3,7,17,18,21]. Figure 1 provides an overview of the outcomes of gender and community mainstreaming through fog water collection projects in areas where weather conditions are favorable for fog collection.…”

Section: Water and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For girls, this means that they are more likely to attend school [21]. Additionally, a closer and more reliable water source may mean that girls stay in school longer, as a lack of water is one of the major barriers to attending school for menstruating girls [23,24].…”

Section: Freeing Of Time For Productive Activitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and Community Mainstreaming in Fog Water Collection Systems

Lucier

Qadir

2018

Water

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Fog water collection is an emerging opportunity to combat local water shortages in water-scarce areas where sustainable access to water is unreliable, but fog events are frequent. Since fog water systems are implemented within or near communities, they eliminate or decrease the need to travel far distances for the collection of water during times of scarcity. As a result, these systems decrease the physical and social burden of water collection on women and girls, who are the primary water gatherers in most traditional communities. This is an important outcome because women and girls are disproportionately affected by water scarcity and are not seen as equals in water management, access, or control. This paper illustrates how several fog water collection projects have shown, empirically, that the positive outcomes for women and girls may include the freeing of time for domestic and educational pursuits, improved health outcomes, and improved perceptions of self and others’ perceptions of women. These findings are important at a time when the world at large is addressing the Sustainable Development Agenda, where Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 necessitates safe water and sanitation for all and SDG 5 ensures gender equality to empower all women and girls.

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“…Because of this, many girls remain absent from schools during menstruation and sex education is also often neglected from the school curriculum which negatively impacts the student's life. Educational policy analysis in lower and middle-income countries indicated that out of the 20 countries' educational policy included in the study, the MHM didn't get focus and even not mentioned in the all educational policy and in many of the countries' school curriculum (10). In most of the schools, both male and female teachers are not ready to discuss menstruation and menstrual hygiene management with students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menstrual hygiene management practice and factors affecting it among high school females in Ambo City, Oromia state, Ethiopia, 2018: A cross-sectional mixed method

Shallo

Willi

Abubekar

2019

Preprint

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Address: abuzumeran1@gmail.com 2 ¶ =this authors contributed equally to the work. 2 | P a g e I. AbstractBackground: Though menstruation is normal physiology in the females' life, if not managed safely, it can interrupt daily activity or it may lead to health problems. Poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools, inadequate puberty education and lack of hygienic menstrual hygiene management items (absorbents) cause girls to experience menstruation as shameful and uncomfortable. This study aimed to assess the extent of unsafe menstrual hygiene practice and factors influencing it among school females in Ambo, Ethiopia.Methods: an institutional-based mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted from March 01 to 15/2018 to collect data from 364 school females, teachers, and investigators observation.To collect the data, self-administered technique, interview, observational and FGD techniques were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software version 20. Uni-variate, bivariate and multiple logistic regression analysis were done. With 95% CI, the P-value of less than 0.05 was taken as the level of significance.Results: the prevalence of the unsafe menstrual hygiene management practice was 53.6%, which implies urgent response from the stakeholders is of paramount importance. Factors such as the age of the females, frequency of discussing menses with mothers and source of information about menses were variables significantly associated with menstrual hygiene management practice. Conclusion and Recommendation:High numbers of school females' menstrual hygiene management were poorly managed. This implies urgent measure is needed from the stakeholders to solve these problems so that sustainable development goal number 3, 4 and 5 will be achieved. To rid off the current problems which school females are facing, comprehensive and different sectors collaboration is important. Specifically, education sectors, water and sanitation sectors, and health sectors bear the frontline responsibilities.

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Attention to menstrual hygiene management in schools: An analysis of education policy documents in low- and middle-income countries

Cited by 29 publications

References 24 publications

The Political, Research, Programmatic, and Social Responses to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the 25 Years Since the International Conference on Population and Development

The Political, Research, Programmatic, and Social Responses to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the 25 Years Since the International Conference on Population and Development

Gender and Community Mainstreaming in Fog Water Collection Systems

Menstrual hygiene management practice and factors affecting it among high school females in Ambo City, Oromia state, Ethiopia, 2018: A cross-sectional mixed method

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