Visibility and support for menstrual poverty

Through technology, alliances, and social research, we aim to reduce menstrual poverty and provide guidance in the poorest and most vulnerable areas of underdeveloped countries such as Colombia.

The lack of access to sanitary pads, tampons, or menstrual cups aggravates the health of millions of women who do not have the resources to access them and end up using unhygienic supplies, mainly in underdeveloped countries where buying the necessary supplies can be considered a luxury. Three main reasons can be identified that lead to menstrual poverty: 

1.  Lack of access to menstrual management products; either because people do not have the money to buy them or because there are no stores or places to buy them. 
2. Lack of quality menstrual education and objective education, in a friendly way and for all people, not only for women, but is also within the concept of menstrual poverty.
3. Lack of access to adequate facilities, such as a private toilet, drinking water every day, waste management, etc. 
These three components make what we know as menstrual poverty (Sardiña, 2022).
Focusing on Colombia, the poor approach to menstruation does not allow girls and adolescents or families and communities to have clear and sufficient information on the subject that allows, on the one hand, to address it taking into account psycho-affective, cultural and social aspects and, on the other hand, to accompany and support them. 

In Colombia, at least 45,000 women live their menstruation in the absence of these essential products to guarantee their dignity. It should be clarified that, although women are the main ones affected because they are the protagonists, this situation should be a matter for everyone in the country, because human dignity is at stake when the importance of the lack of resources to access these products is over-understood.
at least 560 thousand women in the country have an economic deficit to acquire the necessary products for their menstruation. around 45 thousand women used old clothes, napkins, or rags to use them as absorbents; on the other hand, 17 thousand women did not have access to any element that would be useful for their hygiene.

That is why it is so important to denounce this type of poverty since day by day it seems that living with the basics is directly proportional to living with luxuries; and with respect to menstruation, it is worrying to bring to allusion the affirmation of the WHO, where they report that the lack of menstrual hygiene can generate infections in the uterus and diseases that if not treated can compromise reproductive organs.

With more than 45,000 people affected, we cannot work alone. We are looking for alliances and partnerships with different brands and Colombian companies to produce kits and orientation days for diverse communities. 

Since we know that most of these people do not have access to a clean environment with water for proper sterilization of a menstrual cup or reusable products, we want to provide sanitary pads that do not create concerns about their impact on the environment. We propose supporting and associating Colombian companies that produce biodegradable sanitary pads from agricultural waste, such as banana stem fibre.

In this sense, in order to attack menstrual poverty from its 3 leading causes, we want to create a program to teach, guide, help and give visibility to thousands of menstruating women. This program will consist of 5 stages to reach the maximum number of people:

1. Census and research will be conducted to identify the areas most affected by menstrual poverty, the information will be used to prepare us. 
2. Together with staff and partners, we will create personalized kits with essential menstrual products, as well as booklets with all the necessary information about the period.  
3. University volunteers will be recruited and trained to disseminate information about sexual health and menstruation. We will also educate students on this topic. 

4. The day will be carried out together with partners, volunteers, and technological elements to make not only the delivery and guidance but also a safe and fun space to share doubts or experiences and create awareness in people.

5. With the technology and the collection of data from the workshops, there will be a follow-up with the people and communities, so that it is not a one-off process, to ensure that these people have constant access to these elements. 

Although you might think that providing sanitary pads and information about menstruation would only help those who menstruate to stay 'clean', the impact of tackling this problem goes much further. 

• First and foremost, it impacts the lives of those who, out of necessity, use dirty clothes or used pads to control their menstrual flow, saving and preventing them from the many dangerous diseases they can contract. 
• It impacts children who grow up believing that menstruation is something dirty, something not to be talked about, something to be hidden, and something to be ashamed of, by extending school days so that it goes from being a taboo to a topic of recurring dialogue and more information. 
• It affects the millions of menstruating women who lose their right to education during their period because they are unable to buy towels and stop attending school on the days they have their period. 
• It impacts the perceptions of non-menstruating people who ignore and often stigmatize menstruation, by educating them as well as creating a change in the environment and giving more visibility and exposure to the problems, so that if someone recognizes that someone is suffering from menstrual poverty, it is easier to identify and help. 
• It impacts the personal and family economy of millions of people who have to sacrifice several needs each month to be able to pay the high prices of sanitary products, by helping them with free products to alleviate the economic anguish of this issue. 
• It impacts the self-perception and self-esteem of millions of people, who will no longer see menstruation as something unnatural and dirty, but as a normal and natural process of the human body, which should not be a matter of shame, giving them the tools and guidelines to know how to manage their process and making them feel seen, respected and helped on this issue. 

Primarily as women, we understand the challenge of living with menstruation, but we also know and see on a daily basis women on the street, girls, and adolescents who are ashamed and do not have sufficient access to purchase or acquire these items. 

We are students of International Business with enough contacts and influence to achieve this idea of a great project to help thousands of Colombian women like us to have dignified menstruation as it should be around the world.

We have made approaches to needy communities in sectors of Bogota and surroundings, finding the needs and difficulties to talk and get products for the menstrual period. Likewise, the search for information, that although it is well-known and small campaigns are carried out, menstrual poverty is still on the rise, and not enough follow-up has been done to lower the figure. 

We have also contacted entrepreneurs to raise the possibility of realization and partnership of this project that we are passionate about. 

We faithfully believe that in order to achieve technological changes and amazing advances in the world we must focus primarily on using our resources to help all people to live a dignified life and solve problems of basic needs.

In Colombia, there are currently multiple programs dedicated to distributing hygiene items including sanitary napkins and other items for the menstrual period, but these programs do not consist of a follow-up for people who help, if we consider that in regular conditions, in five days of menstruation and following the recommendation to use a towel every four hours during the period, we have that, per month, a woman will use 30 towels, but these programs deliver a package of 10 sanitary napkins that reach only ⅓ of their monthly menstrual period. 
Our solution is innovative because it attacks a problem that many people do not dare to deal with and that is not very visible in our country and greatly around the world, additionally, with the use of technology such as databases to collect information about the people helped to generate a constant supply of sanitary products and that is not a one-time help, also with audiovisual media that will help with the task of teaching and instructing in the days where these products will be distributed, thus generating firmer results and achieve a reduction of menstrual poverty. 

Accessing many areas of the country where the neediest people and marginalized communities live is costly and complicated. It would require transportation vehicles, a large team, financial support, and good logistics to be able to access every girl, young woman, and woman who needs our help. 

Another barrier is the initial investment of the project to be able to have the necessary tools to deliver the best quality of products, workshops, and aid that we plan to do. 
And although currently in the country is not a priority to end this type of poverty, we know the number of women who daily risk their health and dignity to try to have a dignified menstruation, so although the barriers are great, we seek your support to get our project forward and many Colombian women.