Menstrual Hygiene Management kit, reusable pads

General information

• Kit designed for the personal needs of one woman or adolescent girl of reproductive age for 3 months.

• Plan to distribute a Replenishment Kit every 3 months (in-kind or through cash/vouchers).

• Depending on the time span of the intervention,  after 12 months the complete kit should be distributed again.

• Consultations with women and girls of the target group must always guide the selection of hygiene, dignity, or menstrual hygiene-related items. This will include aspects like size and colour of underwear, preferred type of laundry soap and type of pads.

• Always consult with women and girls at the program design stage on how the distributions (in-kind or through vouchers) should best be organized, to allow unrestricted access, safety, and an appropriate level of information.

• There can be substantial differences in the preferences and materials used by women in urban or in rural areas.

• A number of essential items are critical to enable women and girls to manage their menstruation with dignity: a bucket, laundry soap, a rope and pegs to enable washing and drying are actually not less important than the pads or underwear.

• In water-scarce regions, washing clothes or reusable pads may be challenging due to the lack of water. In transit situations, where women and girls are frequently on the move, reusable pads may not be practical.

• Additional items can be added to each distributed kit, this will depend on the local context and socio-cultural situations: a cloth skirt/sari/khanga/sulu can be added to support dignity of women during bathing, or to hide blood stains on clothing. A lamp or torch can also be included to increase safety.

• Prefer specifically manufactured, good quality cloth pads, which can fasten in underwear or are held in place with an elastic band around the waist. If the pads are of the type fastened by an elastic band around the waist, at least 2 elastic waist bands must be included in the kit.

Specifications

• Use the detailed specifications of women underwear  and Reusable sanitary pads in Purchase contracts.

• The quantity of reusable/washable pads or cloth will depend on the quality of the items distributed. 6 reusable pads is a minimum for high quality, specifically manufactured pads, for cotton cloth, the minimum is 8 pieces.

• In case the distributed reusable pads are not very durable, plan to include 6 new reusable hygienic pads in the 3 monthly replenishment kit.

Options/Accessories

Last updated: 13/03/2020