Menstrual Health Waste Management: Understanding the Menstruator

Menstrual health has gained increasing attention over the last decade with priorities focused on ensuring access to menstrual products and education for menstruators in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and humanitarian contexts. According to the LEAP report released by RHSC, there are 1.67 billion menstruators in LMICs and the uptake of disposable menstrual products among them is rapidly growing. In LMIC and humanitarian contexts, the menstrual waste resulting from these products makes its way into the environment. This is due to improper disposal practices, limited options for disposal at source and poor or absent waste management options. Raw materials and menstrual blood in disposed products pose risks to those who dispose and handle it. There is limited research globally on understanding the impact of menstrual waste and identifying appropriate management solutions in vulnerable settings. To address this gap, the RHSC Menstrual Health Supplies Workstream and the Menstrual Hygiene Management in Emergencies Working Group are organizing a three-part webinar series that will explore the existing evidence and need for future investments. Please join us for the first webinar in the series, Understanding the Menstruator, where we will hear from experts on the evidence on disposal practices and donor perspectives on prioritizing the issue. Presentations/Resources Dani Barrington, University of Western Australia Presentation  Menstrual Disposal and Washing Facilities Brief (2-page brief) Drivers of menstrual material disposal and washing practices: A systematic review Aly Beeman and Joe Kwesiga, YLabs Presentation YLabs_FLOW (2-page brief) YLabs_Final Report_FLOW_Public Dissemination YLabs_Cocoon (2-page brief) YLabs_Waste Management Reading Deck Emily Cruz, Splash Presentation PDF White page: ADD_MHM_Solid-Waste-Management-Analysis White page: CCU_MH-Waste-Managament-Landscape David Clatworthy, International Rescue Committee MHM in Emergencies compendium on disposal and waste management Francesca Mazzola, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation NFSSM FSG Global Landscape (2018) FSG Global Landscape (2016) Arundati Muralidharan, Menstrual Health Alliance India Menstrual hygiene management and waste disposal in low and middle income countries: a review of the literature Menstrual waste management (solutions for India)