Period Poverty Persists Worldwide, Threatening Health, Dignity, and Equality

Despite menstruation being a natural and essential biological process experienced by over two billion people every month, millions of women and girls around the world continue to suffer in silence due to period poverty. This silent crisis, deeply rooted in systemic inequalities, not only restricts access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities but also reinforces stigma, undermines education and work opportunities, and violates basic human rights.

What Is Period Poverty?

Period poverty refers to the inability to access or afford menstrual health products, clean water, adequate sanitation facilities, and comprehensive education around menstruation. It affects individuals across economic, geographic, and cultural divides — limiting their mobility, freedom, and dignity. From urban slums to refugee camps, millions of menstruators face immense challenges in managing their periods safely and hygienically, often forced to resort to unhygienic alternatives such as rags, newspapers, or even ash.

Menstrual hygiene is not merely a matter of cleanliness; it is a public health, human rights, and gender equality issue. When women and girls are unable to manage their periods with dignity, it disrupts their ability to participate fully in school, work, and social life.

Key Drivers of Period Poverty

1. High Cost of Menstrual Products

In many countries, menstrual products remain unaffordable due to high taxation and lack of state subsidies. The so-called "pink tax" — where feminine hygiene products are treated as luxury goods — exacerbates this problem. For instance, while Viagra is tax-exempt in several U.S. states, tampons and pads are often taxed at the highest rate.

2. Inadequate Water and Sanitation Infrastructure

More than 1.5 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation services such as private toilets, clean water, and washing facilities. This directly impacts girls’ and women’s ability to manage their menstruation discreetly and safely. In 12 surveyed countries, at least 1 in 10 women and girls had no private space to change during their last period.

3. Lack of Education and Stigma

Menstrual taboos remain pervasive in many cultures. Myths surrounding menstruation — such as beliefs that menstruating women should not cook, enter religious places, or touch others — are common and deeply damaging. In Bangladesh and Egypt, only 32% and 66% of girls, respectively, were aware of menstruation before experiencing their first period, often leading to fear and confusion.

Period stigma also prevents open discussions at home, in schools, and in policymaking circles, further entrenching misinformation and harmful practices.

Global Inequities in Menstrual Health Access

Period poverty is not confined to low-income countries. In the United States, one in four teens and one in three adults struggle to afford menstrual products. A 2020 Plan International UK survey found that 3 in 10 girls had difficulty accessing menstrual products, and over half resorted to using toilet paper or other makeshift alternatives.

In rural areas of countries such as Ethiopia and India, access is even more limited. WHO and UNICEF data reveal that one in five adolescent girls and women in rural Ethiopia used nothing at all to manage their periods, compared to just one in 20 in urban areas.

Menstruation in Humanitarian Crises

Crisis situations — including war, displacement, natural disasters, and economic collapse — drastically exacerbate period poverty. UN Women estimates that 614 million women and girls live in conflict-affected areas. These individuals are often stripped of access to hygiene kits, privacy, and clean water.

For example:

• Gaza, 2024: Over 540,000 women and girls of reproductive age lacked access to menstrual hygiene items. Many resorted to using sponges and cloth due to supply shortages. UN Women estimated a need for 10 million disposable pads monthly in the region.

• Myanmar (displaced camps): Internally displaced women, initially unaware of sanitary pad use, adopted them when trained — preferring them over reusable cloths due to ease and hygiene.

• Lebanon's Economic Crisis: A 2020 survey showed a 98–234% increase in menstrual product prices. Two-thirds of girls said they could no longer afford to buy them, and cultural taboos prevented open discussion of the issue.

Addressing Period Poverty: What Needs to Be Done

Combating period poverty requires a multi-pronged, rights-based approach:

• Policy Reform: Governments must eliminate taxes on menstrual products, ensure they are affordable or freely available, and integrate menstrual health into national health and education systems.

• Infrastructure Development: Investments in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools, workplaces, and public places are critical to ensuring dignity during menstruation.

• Education & Awareness: Schools must provide comprehensive menstrual education to all genders to break the stigma and misinformation.

• Humanitarian Response: Menstrual hygiene must be prioritized in disaster relief and refugee response. Dignity kits should be a standard part of emergency supplies.

Hope in Action

Efforts are underway in many regions. In Bihar, India, for example, UNICEF organized a menstrual hygiene awareness campaign in Sitamarhi district in 2022. Women were seen holding sanitary pads with pride, breaking barriers of shame and silence. Similarly, in Senegal, UN agencies delivered training for government professionals to help reshape sanitation programs from a gender-sensitive lens.

Meanwhile, in Jordan, UN Women partnered with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization in early 2024 to send thousands of dignity kits to women and girls affected by the war in Gaza, highlighting the growing awareness of the critical need for menstrual products during emergencies.

Period poverty is one of the most overlooked yet impactful challenges in the fight for gender equality. It robs women and girls of education, employment, dignity, and health — but it is entirely solvable. Through political will, public education, and targeted investment, the world can move toward a future where menstruation is no longer a barrier to opportunity or dignity.