In the development sector, it’s common for the challenges of food insecurity, economic instability, water scarcity, or housing insecurity to be top of mind. These are all important aspects of how communities live. Yet, awareness of these issues often fails to include the physical or mental wellbeing of the people themselves. One issue in particular that is often overlooked is menstruation. According to the World Bank, an estimated 500 million women lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management. Women around the world also face the challenges of stigma, lack of menstrual education, risk to their health, and restrictions from future opportunities. Through community-led development, Outreach communities in India and Malawi have begun to implement training that women are conducting to educate their peers and neighbors on the importance of menstrual health management.
The Cost of Inaction
For many women and adolescent girls around the world, the topic of menstruation is avoided in their schools, communities, and even families. It’s a normal biological process, yet gender inequality, cultural taboos, and lack of basic hygiene facilities and materials can cause women’s needs to go unmet. A woman facing these obstacles can experience a series of lifelong challenges that affect her and her community.
- School Absences: 1 in 5 girls miss school due to lack of menstrual products. Several schools also lack clean facilities or dedicated spaces for adolescent girls to change their menstrual products. The topic of menstruation is not commonly publicly addressed, causing girls and women to feel isolated, ashamed, and embarrassed about the experience their bodies are going through, causing them to stay home.
- Health Risks: It’s important during menstruation that women have safe products to help manage their hygiene to avoid urinary tract infections or other bacterial infections. A lack of access to sanitary products causes women to use what is available to them that might be unsafe alternatives.
- Gender Inequality: A lack of resources and education further reinforces a gender gap within a community not only socially but economically as well. It places a disadvantage on women who lack basic information about their own health, which negatively affects forward progress and future earnings.
- Decline in Wellbeing: In some cultures there is a stigma associated with uncleanliness causing women to isolate themselves from family, friends, and daily activities like cooking or playing outside. The stigma has created a space where women are uncomfortable to talk with one another about the problems they face during menstruation causing stress, anxiety, and depression.
Affording a Period
Education only works if people have the tools they need to manage their hygiene safely. According to the World Health Organization, 1.5 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation services, such as private or safely managed toilets. Many women can’t afford to properly manage their period because they don’t have a dignified place to take care of their health or money to buy the products.
Outreach India worked with communities on making sure menstruation isn’t seen as a burden. The pink tax is a term used to describe products and services marketed specifically to women that are marked higher in price than nearly identical versions marketed to men. This is a form of gender-based discrimination that is felt all over the world, especially in areas facing economic poverty. In the community of Jagrutiguda, two girls took initiative and collaborated with government health officials, local medical officers, and health workers to arrange the distribution of subsidized sanitary pads at a reduced cost of $0.17 each, compared to the market rate of $0.59. As a result, all women and girls in Jagrutiguda now have access to affordable menstrual products.
Spreading Awareness
Education is the first step to dismantling taboos and rebuilding confidence, especially within a group. According to UNICEF, only 39% of schools globally provide menstrual health education, and millions of girls are unprepared for their first period. Many adolescent girls who experience their first menstruation are unaware of the changes happening to their body. The Outreach Development Program in Malawi wanted to change that.
In September 2025, Outreach facilitators held menstrual health management-related activities in nine field program locations. 21 women were trained who will then teach their own menstrual health education sessions with adolescent girls. The women who attended the sessions were given the tools they need to manage their own menstrual health and encouraged to share what they learned with five people.
Addressing Sociocultural Barriers
Outreach India had a similar vision of addressing sociocultural barriers and reframing adolescent girls and women’s experiences with menstruation. In February of 2026, a one-day training was held with 21 women leaders from eight communities to teach them how to facilitate their own menstrual health management sessions. The training covers understanding menstruation, hormonal changes, hygiene practices, managing discomfort, myths and cultural taboos, and creating supportive environments in schools and families. After the leader training, each participant pledged to share their learning with other girls and women. Since then, 930 women and girls across ten communities have participated in the menstrual health education program.
These sessions directly address “period shame” and lack of knowledge not only for women but also for men. The Outreach India team has already begun rolling out educational sessions for men and boys so they too can be aware of menstruation in order to reduce taboos. Most of the participants had never fully understood menstruation before, not recognizing the physical and emotional challenges (such as cramps and mood changes) that women manage while continuing their daily responsibilities.
By the end of the session, the men expressed a strong willingness to better support women and girls during menstruation. This increased awareness is important to women’s health as well as with the political, social, and economic health of a community. An inclusive environment creates a sustainable environment.
Period-Friendly World
A period-friendly world is not a distant, unreachable dream; it is actively being built session-by-session by communities willing to make a change. By transforming a long-standing taboo into a shared community conversation, these initiatives are unlocking the full potential of women and girls, ensuring they no longer have to sacrifice their education, health, or dignity. When communities are equipped to dismantle stigma and embrace inclusion, the ripple effects extend far beyond individual wellbeing and help pave the way for a more equitable, healthy, and sustainable future for all.
How to Help
You can be a part of this global shift. Donate to support community-led health and education initiatives today, and help us empower more communities to replace shame with knowledge, and isolation with opportunity.
