Today is Menstrual Hygiene Day. It’s an international day of engagement dedicated to highlighting the importance of menstrual hygiene management and erasing the negative stigmas that exist related to menstrual health and hygiene (MHH), which is essential in creating a safe and inclusive environment for women and girls.

It’s also the perfect time to kick off our latest Global Notebook series with an exciting update on our project developed in partnership with the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Commission and the Government of Canada. This women-led WASH for Healthy Homes project is a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving health and well-being in rural communities of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) in Ethiopia.

On this particular trip, we are running a workshop in Addis Ababa with our partners, the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Commission (EKHCDC) and the Maji Safi Group from Tanzania. We are focusing on menstrual health and hygiene, addressing barriers to girls' full participation in education. The workshop we’re facilitating draws on our network of experts in this field and emphasizes south-to-south learning, bringing together expertise and experiences from diverse regions to enhance our collective impact.

We are hosting participants from various regions, including the project’s Community Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promoters, and are collaborating with them to share their experiences and best practices in integrating MHH into community-based programs. This approach aims to ensure that our programming is both culturally relevant and effective in addressing the unique challenges faced by different communities.

‌Engaging everyone in the conversation

To ensure we were engaging everyone in the conversation, we kicked off the workshop with interactive sessions that encouraged active participation and the sharing of diverse perspectives–from both men and women. These sessions delve into the practical aspects of implementing MHH content into WASH programs in schools and communities.

Some of the conversations and questions we explored included:

Why is this international collaboration important in advancing MHH?

“Countries face unique MHH challenges and have context specific approaches and initiatives to promote MHH, however some challenges and initiatives have some commonalities across cultures. International collaboration enables individuals and institutions to exchange knowledge, expertise, and innovative solutions to MHH” shared Anuciata Benasius, Maji Safi Group.

How does the collaboration between men and women benefit the community?

“When men and women collaborate with each other, their combined skills will lead to innovative and sustainable solutions that benefit communities. Collaboration and mutual respect are key to achieving positive and lasting change” said Chernet Birhanu, EKHCDC.

How are myths of menstruation negatively impacting women and girls in the community?

“Taboo and shame about menstruation will result in girls being excluded from any social activities and they might be considered bad luck” shared Chernet Birhanu, EKHCDC.

The above photo shows participants engaging in an introduction activity served to “break the silence” (our catch phrase of the week) around puberty and menstrual hygiene health. Groups were tasked with drawing boys or girls and the changes they experience. The purpose was to get participants to use “uncomfortable” words to highlight how important it is that we are able to speak about our bodies if we are going to teach others.

Pictured above the team has important discussions on the myths and taboos on menstruation, sharing their unique experiences from areas they’ve worked in.

By working together, participants learned from one another to dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding menstruation. We’re excited about the potential of this collaborative effort to drive meaningful change and look forward to seeing the impact in both schools and communities.

Stay tuned for another Global Notebook update soon on more from this workshop as we dig into products to support MHH, including how to sew reusable sanitary pads!

Karen Joe joined the Research and Learning team as a Knowledge and Research Advisor in November 2019. She holds a master’s degree in International Public Health from the University of Queensland and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Ontario. Karen has over 10 years of experience in international development and public health, specializing in knowledge management, program design, gender equality and social inclusion, monitoring and evaluation, and results-based management. She is an experienced evaluator and has worked across Sub-Saharan African and the South Pacific regions. Prior to joining CAWST, she worked at the University of Calgary, coordinating the Tanzania Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative (Mama na Mtoto). She has previously lived in both Nigeria and Ghana where she worked on Global Affairs Canada funded Maternal and Child health programs.

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