Hi Ina,
Thanks for pointing out these three publications and thanks Salua for uploading them to the library!

Ina, which of the currently selected five key documents would you drop in favour of these three new ones? Please make a recommendation. We try to limit it to five key documents, otherwise it's no longer "key" documents. 

The currently selected ones are  in the post at the beginning of this thread (scroll up or down, or see  here  ).

Regards,
Elisabeth

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Edit on 13 May 2021: We have now updated the key documents post with Ina's suggestions. The new post is here: forum.susana.org/24-menstrual-hygiene-ma...y-known-as-mhm#32152

Dear all,

Thank you Ina and all for your useful contributions. I have uploaded the newest documents on the  SuSanA Library . Please find the links below: 

• Guidance for monitoring menstrual health and hygiene (Version 1)
• Making the Case for Investing in Menstrual Health & Hygiene (in English, French   and Spanish)  
• The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies  

My best, 
Salua

Dear all,

I would like to propose a few newer resources

UNICEF (2020) Guidance for monitoring Menstrual Health and Hygiene
www.unicef.org/documents/guidance-monito...l-health-and-hygiene

PSI, PSI Europe, Simavi, The Case For Her, WASH United (2021): Making the case for investing in menstrual health and hygiene
menstrualhygieneday.org/making-the-case-...cing-a-new-standard/

And for those with lots of time
Palgrave Handbook of critical menstrual studies (2020)
link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-981-15-0614-7

Dear Janita,
Thanks again for your guidance. I have now added the two UNICEF documents from 2019 into the post about the Top-5 of recommended reading. That post is available at the beginning of this thread (scroll up or down or see here )

I have removed two other (older) ones. The ones that I removed are still accessible through the SuSanA library anyhow:

Roose, S., Tom Rankin, T., Cavill, S. (2015). Breaking the next taboo: Menstrual hygiene within CLTS - Frontiers of CLTS: Innovations and Insights Issue 6. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
https://www.  susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resources-and-publications/library/details/2558

Kjellén, M., Pensulo, C., Nordqvist, P., Fogde, M. (2012). Global review of sanitation systems trends and interactions with menstrual management practices - Report for the menstrual management and sanitation systems project. Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Stockholm, Sweden
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...library/details/1556

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Elisabeth, apologies for my slow response.

I didn't realize you wanted to keep the number of documents to five in this post. In that case, I might propose to replace the second or forth document with the UNICEF programming guidance, as the latter document provides a more comprehensive guide to MHH programming in development settings and is comparable to the first document on your list which focuses on MHH programming in emergencies.

Thanks for curating this content.
Kind regards,
Janita

Dear Janita,
Thanks for your post. Would you recommend that the two new publications from UNICEF should replace two in the list of five in my previous post? If so, which two? Perhaps two of the older ones? I want to keep the total of the "key readings" to five, otherwise it's no longer "key readings" and less helpful for novices.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Elisabeth,

here are two more documents UNICEF has recently published that you might want to consider in this overview as well. They guide a lot of programming in country.

• The Programming Guidance that outlines essential parts of MHH programming, characteristics of good programming and examples of good practice.
• The Materials Guide that describes commonly available MHM materials, its advantages and disadvantages to enable practitioners to choose what materials might be adequate for their target population and their context.

Best, Janita

Edit on 13 May 2021: This post has been superceded by a new key documents post here: forum.susana.org/24-menstrual-hygiene-ma...y-known-as-mhm#32152

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I have updated the "sticky post" of key documents for this sub-category on Menstrual Hygiene and Health (MHH) or Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) with the help of Elizabeth Wamera from WSSCC and Janita Bartell from UNICEF. This post contains key documents recommended for people who are new to this thematic area.

Recommended top five documents in reverse chronological order:

(1)
UNICEF (2019). Guidance on Menstrual Health and Hygiene. UNICEF, New York, USA
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...library/details/3805

This Programming Guidance outlines essential parts of MHH programming, characteristics of good programming and examples of good practice. It features 5 main sections:
- A global opportunity: explaining the global interest in supporting MHH
- Programm design: principles, government leadership, situation analysis, theory of change, costs
- Core package of interventions: framework of essential MHH interventions
- MHH for girls and women in vulnerable situations: overview of strategies
- Learning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation frameworks

(2)
UNICEF (2019). Guide to Menstrual Hygiene Materials. UNICEF, New York, USA
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...library/details/3806

This guide describes commonly available MHM materials, its advantages and disadvantages to enable practitioners to choose what materials might be adequate for their target population and their context. For each menstrual material, the environmental, health, and financial aspects are highlighted in individual tables – along with considerations of availability, user experience, and standards and regulations. Technical specifications are provided for each material. The guide concludes with a summary table of these key attributes.

(3)
Sommer, M., Schmitt, M., Clatworthy, D. (2017). A toolkit for integrating Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) into humanitarian response. New York: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health and International Rescue Committee. www.wsscc.org/resources-feed/mhm-emergencies-toolkit/

The development of this multi-sectoral resource was led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Columbia University, with valuable expertise and insights provided from a range of global humanitarian actors. The resource is co-published by 25 leading humanitarian organizations. It is published in two forms: a mini-guide and the full toolkit.

(4)
WSSCC (2013) MHM Training of Trainers Manual (English and French), Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council, Geneva, Switzerland
www.wsscc.org/resources-feed/mhm-trainin...ners-manual-english/

This publication is intended to deepen the understanding of the biological nature of the menstruation phenomenon in order to reclaim and restore the pride and confidence that should naturally be a part of it. Managing menstruation hygienically with linked sanitary facilities is an important aspect of life – the practical dimensions of which this publication also aims to facilitate – resulting in clean, convenient facilities that offer privacy and dignity for women at any time of the month.

(5)
House, S., Mahon, T., Cavill, S. (2012). Menstrual hygiene matters - A resource for improving menstrual hygiene around the world. WaterAid, UK
www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2210
or:
www.wateraid.org/what-we-do/our-approach...04-b2ef-6641f6616a4f
or:
washmatters.wateraid.org/sites/g/files/j...low%20resolution.pdf

The main purpose of this resource is to provide a comprehensive resource on menstrual hygiene that supports the development of context-specific information for improving practices for women and girls in lower- and middle-income countries. It provides guidance on building the competence and confidence of WASH and other sector staff to start engaging in menstrual hygiene and break the silence surrounding the issue. It also encourages increased engagement in advocacy on menstrual hygiene and encouraging relevant sectors to collaborate for effective advocacy and implementation.

You can find further important documents and website links dealing with this topic here:

• Browse the SuSanA library by using the search term MHM (or MHH in future): www.susana.org/en/resources/library?search=MHM
• 28 May is "Menstrual Hygiene Day", see their page with many resources: menstrualhygieneday.org/links-2/
• The following Wikipedia articles exist on this topic:
  • Menstruation: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual hygiene day
  • Feminine hygiene: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminine_hygiene
  • Menstrual cup: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cu
  • Culture and menstruation: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_and_menstruation

Please provide your feedback. What do you think of this selection? We can update it from time to time.

Regards,
Elisabeth


P.S. For more information about why we have created this sticky thread, please see here:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-gen...d-sub-category-level

For historical purposes: the previous post with key documents, last updated in 2015, is here: forum.susana.org/24-menstrual-hygiene-ma...l-hygiene-management