The Anu™ Initiative
Menstruation is a burden for many women globally, often accompanied by cramps and hormonal imbalance. In the U.S. there
are a plethora of OTC products at our disposal to help us deal with this monthly occurrence.
We are able to manage our "time of the month" with minimal discomfort.
In fact, there isn't much discussion about menstruation beyond
middle-school health ed, followed by a wave of prepubescent whispering,
snickering, and grinning.
For millions of women and girls in Africa and other developing
countries, menstruation is nothing short of a nightmare. In order to stem the flow of monthly periods, they use
anything from rags, tree leaves, old clothes, toilet paper, newspapers,
cotton wool, cloths or literally anything that they can find. Most
girls from poor, rural communities do not use anything at all.
"Less-privileged girls and women who represent a substantial
percentage in our contemporary Africa will continue to suffer resulting
to school absenteeism and also compromising their right to health
care," says Fredrick W. Njuguna, Program Director of Familia Human Care
Trust in Kenya.
A girl absent from school due to menstruation for four days in 28
days (a month) loses 13 learning days, equivalent to two weeks of
learning, in every school term. It is estimated that within the four years of high school the same
girl loses 156 learning days equivalent to almost 24 weeks out of 144
weeks of learning in high school. Consequently, a girl child potentially becomes a "school drop out"
while she is still attending school. In addition, she has to
deal with emotional and psychological tension associated with the
menstrual process.
To make matters worse, according to Familia Human Care Trust, many
schools in underprivileged areas lack sufficient sanitation facilities
which are vital not only during a girl's period but at all times
generally such as water, adequate toilet facilities and appropriate
dumping facilities for sanitary wear. As a result, menstruating girls opt to stay at home (due to lack of
facilities to help them manage their periods) than go to school.
For orphaned girls, the prospect of coping with bodily changes can
be a significant challenge because they have no one to turn to for
information or advice. In addition, due to the use of un-hygenic methods
to contain their menstrual flow, young girls may develop bodily odors which lead to social exclusion within peer groups, thereby impacting
negatively on her confidence.
The need for affordable basic feminine sanitary care products for women and girls in Africa is indeed a major public health issue. As it is, menstruation has becomes the undeclared basis for the social
exclusion of women and girls. Sanitary protection is an urgent need among
the female gender and needs to be made affordable so that poor and
marginalized groups gain access.
Shonta Gooch founder of Anu™ Initiative, is out to find a solution. In
some areas of Africa, a month's supply of imported disposable sanitary
pads cost more than a day's worth of wages.
The goal for Anu™ Initiative is to create affordable reusable menstrual care options that
are able to be easily manufactured for a low cost at the local level." Our focus is on using local raw materials to ensure
affordability, accessibility, and sustainability. We would like to build a
hyper-local, yet scalable, model with hopes of expanding to Southeast
Asia, Central America, and India. We intend to provide women with a new way to manage that "time of the month"!
Menstruation can be annoying. But ostracizing women for a
natural occurrence is not the answer. All women have the right to health and dignity. Period!
Together, we can make a difference!
