Letter From Our First Ever Board Chair

Worldwide, we must work together to achieve menstrual equity

Worldwide, access to menstrual health products remains a challenge for women, girls and people who menstruate leading to absenteeism in work, school and everyday activities. UN Women reports that 12.8% of women and girls live in period poverty and 1.25 billion don’t have access to a safe, private toilet. This is in addition to the rising cost of menstrual health products and ongoing gender inequalities, which have increased the barriers that menstruators face each day. It’s time to take action and create meaningful change.

While some countries have made progress in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in recent years, many others have fallen behind due to the COVID-19 pandemic creating challenges for the most vulnerable in their communities. This coupled with the absence of menstruation programs – including comprehensive menstrual health education – which continues to drive period poverty worldwide. While some developing countries incorporate menstrual health into sex education, this only provides surface level information to students, and more comprehension is required to eliminate the stigma and increase access to menstrual products. 

At Pandemic Periods, we pledge to drive collective action around Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 to achieve gender equality to empower all women and girls and facilitate efforts to ensure people who menstruate can manage their periods with dignity to achieve good health and well-being. Yet, we recognize this work cannot be done alone and have partnered with global organizations such as the International Rescue Committee, Qrate, and UNFPA.

Together with our partners, Pandemic Periods want to build an inclusive and supportive network, so we can continue to address the challenges that prevent women, girls, and people who menstruate from attaining menstrual health. Join us in our efforts and contact info@pandemicperiods.com to get started!