Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM)
08/07/2025
Income Generating Activities and MHM Training in Buvuma Islands
The collaborative project in the Buvuma islands, the African Child and Youth Development Initiative (ACYDI) and the Orphans and Vulnerable Children empowerment Group (OVCEG) have significantly improved menstrual hygiene management (MHM) by increasing access to vital educational resources and fostering community-wide engagement. A cornerstone achievement is the establishment of the first library in the islands, stocked with over 1,000 health books, including menstrual health readers and growth manuals, which has greatly enhanced access to information on puberty and menstruation, consequently reducing school embarrassment and absenteeism. The project has notably impacted Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) by retraining 25 members of school health clubs and 15 Village Health Teams to provide peer support and raise awareness across 10 villages, directly combating the risk of child marriage often triggered by the onset of menstruation. Furthermore, the initiative has successfully broken the cultural taboo by training 100 men and 40 boys, including district policymakers and religious leaders, to support menstrual health, thereby shifting community attitudes to ensure fathers can provide sanitary materials and keep girls in school. While challenges such as producing reusable pads persist due to limited resources, the multi-stakeholder approach has led to pledges from duty bearers to improve access, reduce stigma, and enhance health education across the 52 isolated islands. https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/train-150-agyw-10-24-years-on-menstrual-hygiene/reports/#menu
Income Generating Activities and MHM Training in Buvuma Islands
