Ensure Access to Menstrual Products for All
Every month, nearly 2 billion people worldwide menstruate. Yet one-third of the world lacks access to basic menstrual hygiene. Managing periods is a major challenge for women and adolescent girls who lack access to menstrual products.
Moonshot accelerator participant Be Girl explains how we can close this gap by distributing sustainable, quality menstrual products in underserved communities around the world. They’re calling for a Menstrual Equity Fund, supported by the World Health Organization, to ensure all those that are menstruating have access to reliable menstrual protection products, starting with girls aged 10-14 years old.
We spoke with BeGirl’s Audrey Anderson Duckett to learn more about BeGirl’s moonshot proposal, which would contribute towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5: good health and well-being and gender equality.
“Ten years ago, no one was thinking or talking about menstrual health. Despite setbacks, there has been enormous global progress thanks to collective efforts.”
~Audrey Anderson Duckett, Be Girl
UA: What inspired your moonshot idea?
BG: Nearly 2 billion people around the world experience menstruation, but one third of the global market for menstrual products, primarily product in emerging markets, is currently not being served. The age range from 10-14 years marks the point when gender disparities begin to emerge in education, health, and other institutions. If menstrual health is not addressed now, it will continue to perpetuate gender inequities across the globe.
This idea was inspired through my work at Be Girl, where we seek to address the global menstrual health gap through access to sustainable, premium-quality products like our PeriodPanty™.
My moonshot idea hopes to ensure that all people that are menstruating have access to reliable menstrual protection materials, starting with girls aged 10-14 years through a Menstrual Equity Fund spearheaded by the World Health Organization.
UA: What is the impact you hope to make?
BG: Despite its far-reaching implications, menstrual health is an easily resolvable issue. Proven solutions exist for delivering long-lasting, reliable menstrual protection that enables users to access opportunities for education, health, social, and economic development. The issue comes with how the protection is accessed.
By prioritizing menstrual health and ensuring it is treated as a necessary human right that menstruating people must be able to access sustainable, reliable menstrual protection, we can achieve significant strides towards SDG 5 and gender equality.
UA: Looking ahead to next year, what are you hopeful about?
BG: Change always comes slower than we want it to be, but through the work of global advocates, we can make sure progress is achieved. Despite setbacks, there has been enormous global progress thanks to these collective efforts. Ten years ago, no one was thinking or talking about menstrual health. However, because of advocates refusing to accept the status quo, we are now seeing bold statements by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations agencies, and many more influential organizations in support of menstrual health.
Link to full step-by-step moonshot policy proposal coming soon.