Menstruation & the SDGs
Summary
TLDRThis presentation discusses the connection between menstruation and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in relation to poverty, health, education, and gender equality, focusing on Uganda. It highlights how inadequate menstrual health management negatively impacts these areas. Examples include lack of access to menstrual products leading to school absenteeism, social isolation, and increased risk of health issues. The speaker emphasizes the need for broader societal change, involvement of men, and governmental support to address period poverty and help achieve the SDGs.
Takeaways
- 🌍 The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by world leaders in 2015, with 17 goals addressing global issues like poverty, health, and education.
- 🤝 The SDGs are a universal endeavor, aiming to include both low-income countries like Uganda and high-income countries like Denmark.
- 💡 Menstrual health management is closely tied to many SDGs, particularly in terms of poverty, health, education, and gender equality.
- 💸 Poverty impacts menstruation, with people often unable to afford quality menstrual products, leading to the use of unsanitary alternatives.
- 🩸 In some countries, including Uganda, menstruating individuals resort to extreme measures like selling food rations to buy pads, or even undergoing procedures like uterine removal in India due to work conditions.
- 👩⚕️ Poor menstrual health is linked to health risks like infections, transactional sex (which increases HIV risk), and pain that goes untreated due to shame.
- 🏫 Education is heavily affected by menstruation, with studies showing higher absenteeism and lack of participation from girls during their periods, especially in Uganda.
- 💬 Gender equality issues are highlighted, with menstruation being tied to early marriages and financial pressures on families to marry off their daughters to reduce costs.
- 🙍♀️ Shame and fear surrounding menstruation are pervasive, but involving men in the conversation can help challenge these stigmas and create a sense of freedom for girls and women.
- 📈 Addressing menstruation and period poverty is critical to achieving SDGs, especially in countries like Uganda, where government leaders have acknowledged the importance of the issue.
Q & A
What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
-The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global goals adopted by world leaders in 2015. They aim to address major global issues such as poverty, health, education, and environmental sustainability. The goals apply to all countries, from low-income nations like Uganda to high-income ones like Denmark.
How is menstruation related to the SDGs?
-Menstruation is linked to many of the SDGs, particularly in how inadequate menstrual health management negatively affects them. Examples include impacts on poverty, health, education, and gender equality. Proper menstrual health management is essential for achieving several of the goals.
How does poverty affect menstrual health management?
-Poverty limits access to quality menstrual products, forcing people to use unsafe alternatives like corn cobs, old newspapers, or even nothing at all. This can lead to infections, social isolation, and other health issues. In some cases, like in Uganda, people sell food rations to buy pads, which highlights the desperation caused by the lack of affordable products.
What are some examples of how menstrual health management impacts people in different countries?
-In the UK, poor girls are provided free pads to help them stay in school. In Uganda, refugees only receive menstrual products for the first three months. In Bangladesh, factory workers take hormonal contraceptives to stop menstruation and keep working. In India, some sugarcane cutters have their uterus removed to avoid menstrual pain.
How is menstruation linked to health and the risk of HIV transmission?
-Menstruation is linked to health issues like transactional sex, where girls may exchange sex for money or favors due to financial desperation. This increases the risk of HIV transmission. Additionally, many women stop using contraceptives due to concerns about menstrual irregularities, which can further complicate family planning and health outcomes.
How does menstruation affect education in Uganda?
-Menstruation affects school attendance in Uganda, with girls missing 28% of school days during their periods compared to 7% on non-period days. Moreover, 64.7% of girls avoid participating in class during menstruation due to fear of ridicule if they leak or smell, which significantly hampers their education.
What is 'period poverty' and how does it affect Uganda’s SDGs?
-Period poverty refers to the lack of access to affordable menstrual products. This issue affects Uganda's ability to meet the SDGs, particularly in terms of gender equality, health, and education. Government leaders, including the Minister of Higher Education, have acknowledged that addressing period poverty is essential for achieving the SDGs.
How does menstruation relate to gender equality and child marriage in Uganda?
-Menstruation is often viewed as a sign that girls are ready for marriage in Uganda, which can lead to child marriage. Some parents are eager to pass on the financial burden of caring for a girl, including the cost of menstrual products, to a husband. This contributes to gender inequality and early marriage.
Why is involving men in menstrual health management important?
-Involving men in menstrual health management is important because it helps reduce the stigma and shame associated with menstruation. Many men are curious and willing to support girls and women, which can lead to a greater sense of freedom and agency for both genders.
What emotions do girls express regarding menstruation and how does addressing menstrual issues affect them?
-Girls often express feelings of fear and shame related to menstruation, but when menstrual issues are addressed, they speak about experiencing freedom. This freedom allows them to engage in everyday activities like riding bikes, going to school, and spending time with friends, which enhances their overall well-being.
Outlines
🌍 The SDGs and Menstruation: A Global Connection
The speaker introduces the concept of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted in 2015 to address global issues like poverty, health, and education. These goals are universal and apply to both low-income countries like Uganda and high-income nations like Denmark. The speaker emphasizes how inadequate menstrual health management impacts nearly all 17 SDGs, but focuses on select goals in the context of Uganda. The conversation begins with poverty and its direct impact on menstruation, linking menstrual products to economic constraints, especially in poorer nations.
💰 Menstrual Health and Poverty: A Vicious Cycle
The first SDG, poverty elimination, is deeply intertwined with menstruation. Traditional methods of managing menstruation, such as using corn husks or old newspapers, are still in use due to the high cost of commercial menstrual products. These methods often lead to infections, social isolation, and other health risks. In the UK, even in a wealthy country, poor girls receive free pads to stay in school. In Uganda, refugees must sell food rations to afford pads, and in other countries like Bangladesh and India, extreme measures like hormonal contraceptives or uterus removal are used to avoid menstruation and remain productive in jobs, highlighting desperation.
💊 Health Risks Tied to Menstruation and Poverty
The third SDG focuses on health, and menstruation-related poverty plays a critical role here too. Many girls engage in transactional sex to afford menstrual products, increasing their risk of HIV transmission. Additionally, menstrual irregularities caused by contraception can lead to women discontinuing family planning methods, exacerbating health risks. The stigma surrounding menstruation prevents girls from seeking medical help, especially for conditions like debilitating menstrual pain, which further impacts their well-being.
📚 Menstruation and Education: A Barrier to Learning
Menstruation significantly affects girls' education. In Uganda, studies show that 28% of girls miss school during their periods, compared to 7% on non-period days. Moreover, 64.7% of girls refrain from participating in class activities during menstruation due to the fear of being ridiculed if they leak or smell. This lack of participation is detrimental to their overall educational experience and learning outcomes, and it underscores the urgent need for addressing menstrual stigma and providing adequate menstrual health resources.
👩🦰 Gender Equality and Menstruation: Cultural and Economic Pressures
Gender equality, another key SDG, is closely linked to menstruation, especially in cultures where a girl's first period signals her readiness for marriage. In Uganda, parents often push for early marriages to shift the financial burden of caring for a girl, including buying menstrual products, onto her husband. The speaker also discusses how girls feel fear and shame around menstruation, but emphasizes the importance of involving men in addressing these challenges. Men’s support can help girls feel empowered, and both men and women can experience greater freedom and agency when menstruation-related stigma is overcome.
🚀 The Path Forward: Menstruation and the SDGs
The speaker concludes by reiterating the importance of addressing menstruation to achieve the SDGs. Menstruation is still a relatively new field of focus in global health and development, and there is much to learn. However, efforts like those in Uganda highlight the need for continued research and action. The speaker encourages further exploration of this topic, directing viewers to a link for more information, and expresses optimism about future progress.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
💡Menstrual Health Management
💡Poverty
💡Transactional Sex
💡Period Poverty
💡Health (SDG 3)
💡Education
💡Gender Equality (SDG 5)
💡Shame and Stigma
💡Access to Menstrual Products
Highlights
Introduction to the connection between menstruation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Explanation of the 17 SDGs, which address issues like poverty, health, and education, and their universal relevance across countries.
Focus on the connection between menstruation and poverty, particularly how inadequate menstrual health management can negatively impact the first SDG, poverty elimination.
Discussion on the challenges of accessing good quality menstrual products, which can lead to infections, leakage, and social isolation.
Examples of how menstrual products are a financial burden in both rich and poor countries, such as the UK providing free pads to girls and Ugandan refugees selling food rations to buy pads.
Mention of factory workers in Bangladesh using hormonal contraceptives to stop menstruation to avoid work disruptions.
Highlighting the extreme measures taken by women in India, like having their uterus removed, to avoid menstrual complications while working.
Connection between menstruation, health, and the risk of HIV transmission due to transactional sex driven by financial desperation.
Discussion on the discontinuation of contraception due to concerns about side effects, including menstrual irregularities.
Statistics on school attendance in Uganda, where girls miss 28% of school days during their periods.
The impact of menstruation on participation in education, with many girls avoiding participation in class during their periods due to fear of ridicule.
Recognition by Ugandan government officials of the importance of addressing period poverty to achieve the SDGs.
The relationship between menstruation, gender equality, and child marriage, with examples from Uganda.
Mention of the involvement of men in addressing menstruation issues, with some men becoming champions for change.
Conclusion emphasizing the need for continued research and action in the field of menstruation to help achieve the SDGs.
Transcripts
okay
hello everyone i'm so happy to be here
to talk with you about the connections
between
menstruation and the sustainable
development goals or
sdgs the sdgs were adopted by world
leaders in 2015.
there are 17 goals related to poverty
health education etc
and they are often represented by a ring
like you see here
to show how they are interconnected uh
they cover the whole world that is they
they cover countries like uganda which
is a low-income country but also
high-income countries like denmark
so to me this is a little bit moving
actually to have such a
universal endeavor we are in this
together
but what does that have to do with
menstruation
we could probably show how inadequate
menstrual health
management negatively affects just about
all of the 17 sdgs
but here we will suggest we will select
excuse me
just a few and focus on uganda
so let's start with poverty
poverty elimination is the first sdg
goal and with good reason it affects
everything it really is a ring
but why is that important for
menstruation well
people will have always menstruated and
traditionally they have used products
which cost
nothing corn carbs old newspaper
isolation in a special hut or nothing
if they can't afford onto pets where to
put they can put the products
however traditional is not always ideal
and in this case traditional is
associated with infections with leakage
with social isolation
and so good quality menstrual products
are costly no matter whether they're
homemade or commercial let me give a few
examples
in the uk poor girls are given free pads
to keep them in school and this is the
uk
a rich country in uganda reports from
one refugee settlement are
that refugees receive menstrual products
but they do so only for the first three
months after they arrive
after that they continue to receive food
rations every month
but they need cash so they take those
food rations to market
and sell them for four dollars then they
use
1.6 dollars to buy pads this is surely a
sign of desperation
since then they have no food and in
bangladesh
factory workers are reported to take
hormonal contraceptives to stop
menstruation
the pain and bleeding otherwise would
prevent them from working
and in india recent reports are that
sugarcane cutters
are resorting to having their uterus
removed
for the same reason
let's look at them at health the health
goal number three poverty also reaches
into that of course we all know or can
imagine
that transactional sex that is sex in
exchange for money or favors
can increase the risk of transmitting
hiv
yet there's quite a bit of evidence that
girls resort to it
if they have no other source of cash
and the younger and the poor the higher
the risk
there's also connection to family
planning a large number of women
discontinued
contraception because they're concerned
about side effects
and that includes menstrual
irregularities
which are actually quite common for
example
long-acting hormonals cause spotting
and then sexist forbidden so they can't
afford that
and of course again a major problem is
pain
debilitating pain dyspinaria but girls
are ashamed
to go see their doctors for menstrual
problems like that
let's look at education there are many
many studies which look at how
menstruation affects
school attendance and the levels very
grating
here's just one from uganda which finds
that
girls miss school 28 that's more than a
quarter on period days
versus seven percent on non-period days
and perhaps just as important as
absenteeism is participation
another study from uganda found that
64.7
of girls avoided standing up in class
to answer questions during their periods
and that is of course a very important
part of participation in ugandan schools
and the reason was that they
feared that they would be ridiculed by
classmates
if they spotted or smelled now this has
not gone unnoticed
by government leaders for example the
honorable minister of higher education
in uganda
john cruz said if nothing is done
to end period poverty uganda will
struggle
to meet the esdts
let's look at gender and equality
let me give a few examples of this
pretty complex issue
government leaders are also very aware
of the issue of child
marriage president museveni of uganda
notes that parents think their daughters
are ready for marriage
when they start menstruating and he
holds for a change in attitude
and momentus and other studies indicate
that parents are
eager the reason of one reason for this
is that parents are eager to pass on the
cost
of caring for a girl to a new
breadwinner her husband
including the classifying pads
but some of the most compelling evidence
to my mind is to hear girls talk about
fear and shame related to menstruation
they talk about that in every sentence
when you ask them about their experience
now shame does not exist only in the
mind of the girl
it's also in the minds of her
surroundings that's one reason that
romana places great value on the
involvement of men
and we find actually that men are many
men are very curious
and very willing to take on a new role
as champions to help girls and women
and girls go from speaking about fear
and shame
to talking repeatedly about freedom
freedom to ride a bike
to go to school to be with their friends
so actually both males and females are
feeling more agency
and freedom that brings a smile
to my face and i hope it does to yours
so these were just a few points as the
honorable minister said
helping solve the issue of menstruation
is
important for the sdgs now this is a
young
field and much is still unknown we give
a link
on the on the slide to a
frequently asked question a note that we
have done which has
much more detail and i hope to see you
in that space
thank you very much bye-bye
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