BY Marwa Tageldin
Photo credit: Ahazig Hassan
“Reproductive health is a right, not a luxury” is the slogan for the “1 Million Sustainable Pads Campaign.” Let’s Talk Period! launched this campaign in December 2023 in Sudan to provide access to safe and sustainable menstrual products and reproductive health education. The majority of girls in Sudan face difficulties in accessing menstrual products, education and infrastructure. This situation is further exacerbated by the ongoing conflict. In the absence of menstrual products, using unhygienic alternatives exposes girls and women to increased health risks.
Our team consists of six sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) experts and feminists. We distribute locally made reusable pads by Alsalam Factory that can be worn for up to a year, and provide menstrual and reproductive health education, and gender-based violence referrals. Our services are offered without discrimination, regardless of age, nationality, background, ethnicity, class, race, or residence.
So far, we have reached 3,000 women and girls in Kassala, Eastern Sudan, and distributed 9,000 reusable pads. For our next distribution cycle, we aim to reach 5,000 menstruators in the Adre Refugee Camp in Eastern Chad, where very little humanitarian assistance is available.
We also plan to distribute disposable pads in the Kiryandongo refugee camp in Uganda, where thousands of menstruators reside. We have already conducted the Training of Trainers sessions and will hopefully soon begin distributing the pads.
We have a pool of over 600 volunteers ready to help and who believe in our cause. The majority are still in Sudan, and some are living in unsafe places but are willing to support us and help us reach those in need.
So far, we have conducted two workshops and fundraising events to raise awareness about menstrual health and to gather funds to support our campaign, which is based on crowdfunding.
The campaign is part of the Let’s Talk Period! Initiative, which aims to raise awareness about SRHR, with a special focus on menstrual health, normalize conversations about periods in public, destigmatize menstruation, and dispel myths and misconceptions.
Let’s gather to support people who menstruate during these difficult times of displacement and conflict.