A survey titled ‘Sanitary Protection: Every Woman’s Health Right,’ conducted by the non-governmental organization Plan India, reveals that only 13% of women nationwide use sanitary napkins. The remaining 87% use unsanitized cloth, ashes, and husk sand for their menstrual hygiene.
Furthermore, a survey conducted by NGO DASRA called ‘Spot On’ highlights that 23 million girls leave school every year because they don’t have access to proper facilities for managing their periods, such as sanitary napkins, and also lack awareness about menstruation.
To improve the situation in the city, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started distributing more than 336,000 sanitary napkins in its secondary and higher secondary schools.
The corporation will cover the cost of these napkins because most students attending these schools come from economically weaker backgrounds. Several surveys conducted over the years have shown that financially struggling girl students often end up to using unhygienic clothes. Many even drop out of the school. Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to significant health risks, such as reproductive and urinary tract infections, which may cause infertility and complications during childbirth in future
NMC will distribute over 336,000 sanitary napkins in secondary and higher secondary schools. Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to serious health risks such as reproductive and urinary tract infections, potentially causing infertility and birth complications in the future. According to UNICEF reports on menstrual health in India, the low income of families, which limits their ability to purchase napkins, is a significant reason for girls dropping out of secondary and higher secondary schools.
The corporation has decided to pay the private provider seven rupees per napkin, amounting to over 23.56 lakh rupees a year.
According to sources within the NMC, the corporation has chalked out a plan to provide each female student with seven napkins per month for the next twelve months.
To implement this plan, the corporation will appoint a private distributor.
Apart from providing napkins, this private player will also have the responsibility to conduct sessions in schools regarding menstrual awareness. While doing all this the provider also has to collect the health. and wellness data of these girls and submit it to the Social Welfare Department of NMC so that a health profile of these girls can be prepared.