Project Background

Menstruation is a normal biological process for girls and women all over the world, yet many adolescent girls are still unable to manage their period with dignity and pride due to their inability to afford basic menstrual health products, a situation referred to as period poverty.

In the North Central region of Nigeria, girls enter puberty without the required knowledge, tools and support they need for their menstrual health, this together with the lack of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in the region has made the experience of menstruation difficult for many of them.

For many households who live below the poverty line, affording menstrual health products which cost an average of 350 to 400 Naira per pack, further worsens the situation of menstrual hygiene management in the region.

Physical problems such as the lack of hygiene supplies ,the absence of WASH facilities in schools and communities, to the verbal shaming of menstruating people referred to as period- stigma across the region has resulted in adolescents girls missing up to 20% of their academic year, and for others, the situation exposes them to some forms of Gender-Based Violence, including Child marriage and sexual violence.

Project Objectives:

To tackle this challenges, SAI initiated the Participatory Menstrual Hygiene Management for Adolescent Girls project (PMhmAG), a project that aims at improving the menstrual health of in-school and out-of-school girls across communities in Abuja through menstrual health education and awareness.

The project aims to help 500 in-school and out-of-school adolescent girls manage their period with dignity and pride equipping them with education and dignity kits.

The project will cover:

_Menstrual Health Education for both in school and Out of school girls to sensitized and educate them on menstruation and good hygiene practices

_Distribution of sanitary products to give beneficiaries a good start in practicing good menstrual hygiene

_Provision of period-friendly toilet wares such as soap, disinfectant and waste bind in partner schools and commtunities.

Intended Outcomes:

1. Menstrual hygiene management literacy amongst beneficiaries
2. An enabling school environment for managing menstruation with dignity.
3. A decline in period taboo practices
4. Adolescent girls and women who are confident during their period

Project Timeline: Six Months: January to June 2022

Budget:

Project duration 6 months.

Proposed number of adolescent girls- 500

Allocation of Items to be distributed per Participant – ₦1,750.00

Total of 100 Participant per month – ₦175,000.00