Hi Peter, Naomi, and others with interest in MHM

Our research group is currently investigating the acceptability use feasibility and safety of menstrual cups, against manufactured pads and 'usual practice' among schoolgirls in rural western Kenya. It is culturally relatively homogeneous in this Luo area, with very few Muslims, so we will be unable to generate any experience on acceptability and use for the population you work with.

However, we would bring to your attention activities conducted on the coast of Kenya, by colleagues at Camps International; they are working with school girls (and boys) teaching them how to make reusable pads (among a number of skills for life):

www.campsinternational.com/projectblog/2...f-muhaka-youth-club/

It is predominantly a Muslim population, and has been very well received locally. The person leading the programme is male, but they hired a female teacher to run it on a day to day basis, to work directly with the girls and boys. The trainer they brought in with expertise on making the reusables was also female.

Regards, Penny
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; in collaboration with KEMRI/CDC Research and Public Health Collaboration and other partners, western Kenya.

Note by moderator: I have moved this posting into the existing thread on reusable pads because it fits nicely here. (EvM)
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Dear Forum,
I'm completely new in the field of sanitation and need your advice.
Something I hadn't realized before I dealt with this topic is the fact that it is again women and girls who suffer most from the unpleasant circumstances. I've already written in another thread about our project in Gando, where we would like to install ecosan-toilets in the CFG which is presently being built. And then, ("of course") with separate latrine blocks for boys and girls.
But I also came across another way how one could help the girls cope with their menstrual situation. Brwosing through the internet i came across www.afripads.com , a self-help organization run by Ugandan women who manufactures low-cost, reusable (washable) cloth sanitary pads.
In this forum I also came across the idea of a menstrual cup and read about the reservations in many mainly Islamic communities against the use of these. I can imagine this is also the case in our partner village, Gando in Burkina Faso (see www.fuergando.de and www.lichtfuergando.de ).
I would very much like to introduce the Afripads in the village, but I'm not sure whether - as a white male - I can do so without crossing cultural, religious or social borders. I've been to Gando three times before, and I think I've got quite informal, good contact with a woman teacher and one of the women in the village who prepared my meals. Do you think it is possible to confide in them, talk with them openly about the problem and have them introduce the pads if possible?
Has anyone experience about how and if these pads are accepted in African (Burkinabe) communities? Of course it could only be the second-best solution to using disposable pads, but the women and girls in the village can't afford these.
Thank you very much for your patience and hope to hear form you soon,
Peter

Dear All

I pray you can be of assistance. I have been doing some work with girls on menstrual sanitation, in terms of fund raising for sanitary towels, distribution and also reproductive health forums in schools in the slums and rural areas of Kenya.

I have been approached by two separate projects, one around Lewa and one in Kakamega that are interested in making reusable sanitary towels. I need someone to train ladies on how to make the sanitary towels. Now i know that there are a number of similar projects running in Kenya but for the life of me i have hit two road blocks for the ones i had thought could assist me. So far, no luck on any information. I am hoping by posting here that i may manage to get in touch with someone who may have a clue or who may be able to assist? We would be looking at implementing as soon as possible.These are areas that are fairly marginalized, although they have easy access to water and the outreach would be to quite a number of school girls in the areas.

Please could you let me know if you have any contacts, i would be most appreciative.

Naomi

Path to Womanhood Foundation
www.pathtowomanhood.org
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you Nazir, this sounds a very interesting user friendly product. After having gone through the Web, i did not see SABS or any international certification of the product. Can you help with this information? . In addition, we are talking of addressing the needs of the BOP market, i have seen the comparison chat, its being a sustainable product and the testmonials but would love to know the other components. How does this product address the needs of the BOP market?

Regards

Aaron

I would suggest you have a look at this website as well:

www.miacup.co.za/

Another link is www.smartglobalhealth.org/blog/entry/sanitary-pads.

Considering that a girl does not use one pad the whole day, she may need to change during the day, now if the pad is reusable, how does she keep it and where?

I agree with the idea of biodegradable pads. But there should be a lot health education that goes with the programme.

Regards

I think it's time we invest more time and research into pads that are either biodegradable, may be reused or which are made out of material that may be reused. I wish we had a product that would qualify for a Cradle-2-Cradle certification so that it (the marketing / the attractiveness of the product / incentive for a global consumer market) isn't only reduced to an African market.
MHM also is a topic in the Western world, imo and the plastic contained in each pad - well...go to a local sewage treatment plant and see what they remove from the blackwater each day. Both, the provision of clean pads as well as the treatment/disposal are a problem, I think.

I couldn't open the first (box.net) link, but I guess you were referring to the Janipad in EAK: www.janipad.com.

Else - I've moved this topic to the MHM category.

Dear All

I have read of a school in Kenya that is making reusable sanitary Pads, the profile can be found on the following link www.box.net/shared/nh4fsp749rgetn9ki62d .

There is also a similar projct in Uganda the link is hopebuilding.pbworks.com/Affordable-mens...chool%2C-create-jobs

While i find this as a noble invention to cater for the bottom of the pryramid, how sustainable is this and is this not going to create more problems than solutions? This is interms of health implications. Consider recycling a sanitary pad in Africa where there is rampant water shortages.
One learning point here is technological innovations and their impact on the consumer. And product, market dynamics.

What do we think about this?

Regards

Aaron