Many young girls and women in local and underserved communities of Cameroon, struggle to find ways to cope with monthly menstrual hygiene. Most of these girls and women either have no access to toilets or are faced with unclean lavatory facilities. Moreover, they usually wait until nighttime before using public toilets or fields, which exposes them to various forms of physical attacks.

A majority of rural women in Cameroon employ clothes and rags for feminine hygiene. These materials might expose these vulnerable and disadvantaged young girls and women to reproductive tract infections since it may be difficult for them to keep their used napkins clean and free of harmful bacteria. Washing reusable feminine products with soap and drying them in sunlight may be difficult due to lack of water, private facilities, and cultural taboos associated with menstruation.

Our Menstrual Hygiene program combines health education for adolescent girls, providing a regular supply of sanitary napkins and enabling other sanitation measures such as access to water and toilets in schools and in the community through convergence with other programs. Building on existing experience in the country, this scheme also promotes the active participation of women self-help groups in the manufacturing of sanitary napkins.  It will not only generate economic livelihood for the people in the villages, but will also promote local demand and distribution at a relatively low cost.