Page 11 - MHM Report-2023

The situation at a glance

63 million adolescent girls in India live in homes without toilet facilities

45%

do not consider
menstruation
50% as normal*

women
change
pad / cloth only
70% to overflow
when it is about

mothers
consider
menstruation dirty*

untrue, as clean cotton cloth is one of the best school setup remains limited, hindering the ability
available absorbents owing to the properties of to adopt safe MHM practices. Where available,
high absorption, retention and breathability. sanitary pads often sell at higher-than-affordable
The popularity of disposable sanitary pads price points. In addition, not all women and girls
has also increased single-use-and-throw behaviour. in rural and low-income groups have access to
Many women in the baseline studies reported appropriate spaces and sufficient water to wash the
replacing good quality reusable cotton cloth pads cloth properly or to change and discard disposable
with other forms of cheap, synthetic cloth to sanitary pads.
practice affordable single-use behaviour. These The lack of access to safe water, sanitation
materials, however, pose a higher risk of microbial and hygiene (WaSH) facilities at all times, can
growth leading to higher risk of reproductive tract result in girls and women using these products
infections (RTIs). for longer than the prescribed safe duration (see
Box 5). Another concern could be the need among
ii) Affordability and access low-income households to minimise their spending
In rural areas, access to sanitary pads outside the on sanitary products every month. This is further

Unhealthy practices

 Anecdotal evidence from rural Rajasthan suggests that adolescent girls use the same sanitary
pad for 12 hours or more on a regular basis.
 In five districts of Uttar Pradesh*, more than half of the girls and women changed their
5 menstrual absorbent only once a day or when it was about to overflow.

*Source: Baseline study commissioned by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)

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