Menstrual Health and Hygiene – Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)

Name of the activity: Menstrual Health and Hygiene

Country/NMO: Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)

Program: Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Type of the activity: Education

General description:

Following topics were covered during the session by presentations, charts and posters:
Menstruation and brief physiology.
Menstruation Awareness as essential part of
sexual education.
Menstrual Health Management.
Taboos surrounding menstruation.
Menstrual Hygiene -the basics
-sanitary protection materials and disposal
-in emergencies,workpace and schools.
Disorders associated with
menstruation.(Ammenorhea, Toxic Shock
Syndrome)
Diet and physical factors that effect
menstruation.

‘Lets break the myths ‘ activity:
In this interactive session, we asked our audience to tell us the ideas or misconceptions they had about menstruation. The misconceptions were explained to be false and baseless.

Focus area:

Peer Education with adolescents and young people on a variety of topics pertaining to Sexual Health

Problem statement:

In Pakistan, there is a dearth related to hygienic and unhygienic practices, discomforts , misconception related to nutrition ,and restrictions imposed during menstruation.
52% of total population of the world is female and goes through the process of menstraution. Yet it is a subject that is stigmatized. Girls are taught to view it as a subject of shame and hence the girls are unable to share their experiences, pain, problems and discomforts regarding menstruation. It is considered a taboo in many cultures.
3 out of every 10 girls are unaware of menstrual hygiene. This adds up to the problem and can cause risk of several infections and gynecological problems in future for these girls.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

Target Groups: Girls aged 14-16
Direct Beneficiaries: Teenage girls.
Indirect Beneficiaries:
1-Their female friends and family members will be shared with the
knowledge on menstruation.
2- Children they will bear in future will be healthier.
3- Society will benefit from a cleaner environment and will be free from
infections spread through improper disposal of absorbents.
4-Medical Students and general public, through IFMSA-Pakistan pages on
social media.

Objectives and indicators of success:

Objectives:

1- pave way for hygienic way of life

2- provide means to achieve sustainable developmental goals no 3 , 5 , 6 and 8 .

3- reduce the risk of infections and blood borne diseases, leading to less complications at child birth and pregnancy.

4- consider menstruation as a sign of good health and fertility . The taboos and stigmas around it will no longer exist.

Success indicators:

1-Hygiene manual was provided to girls

2-The presentations were on how greater menstrual health awareness helps us achieve the SDG’s.

3- Girls were provided guidance on proper disposal of absorbents.

4- ‘Lets break the myths’ activity was conducted.

Methodology:

1-We visited 2 public schools and conducted seminars, group
discussions and activities that provide information to young girls on how to
maintain good personal health and hygiene during menstruation.

2-Audience was distributed a “menstrual kit”. It comprised of :
– A hygiene manual with tips on menstrual health and hygiene management
-Sanitary Pads.
-Hand wipes.
3. The project included a promotional video in which medical students from different local councils wrote down a tagline regarding the importance of girl’s right to speak about their health without thinking of it as a matter of shame. It was done to lessen the unease that majority of population feels when coming across such a discussion.

Plans for evaluation:

Timing : Post evaluation was conducted.

Type: audience was given evaluation forms comprising of questions that will enable us to evaluate the extent of success of our project and the impact it made on their knowledge about menstrual health and hygiene.

87% of the girls agreed benefiting from the session.

Audience remarks were taken in form of videos.