Improving Menstrual Health Management

Through the usage of Menstrual Cups

In villages of Madhya Pradesh based on the success of the pilot project in a remote village Imaliya Singpur, Dist Raisen, Madhya Pradesh

In his speech on Independence Day last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first ever PM to address the issue of menstrual health. He said,

"This government has been persistently concerned about better healthcare for poor sisters and daughters. We have done a huge job in providing sanitary pads at one rupee each in Janaushadhi Kendra. In a short span of time, more than 5 crore sanitary pads have been delivered to these poor women from 6,000 Janaushadhi Kendras".

Just weeks after Mr.Modi's announcement, it was reported that the government was planning to spend Rs. 12,000 crore to ensure universal access to sanitary pads and to involve corporate houses in the initiative through their CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities.

Inconceivable ways women deal with periods worldwide

Educational Impact

Due to a lack of access to sanitary products, girls are often forced to miss school and low-income women are more susceptible to infections and other devastating consequences including infertility.

Social Impact

In places where women's bodies are viewed with suspicion, damaging social stigmas and myths cast them away from the community, limiting their job options and social interactions, which inevitably takes an incalculable socioeconomic, physical and mental toll on their lives.

Why Menstrual Cups? Advantage of Introducing Menstrual cups over Sanitary Napkins

Sanitary Napkins	Menstrual Cup
In 10 years a woman would require 11,520 sanitary pads	In 10 years a woman would require 1 Menstrual cup
The government distributed pads @Rs 1 would cost Rs.11,520 in 10 years	No recurring cost
A branded sanitary napkin like the popular brand 'Whisper' @Rs 10 per pad would cost around Rs 1 lac	A good quality branded, medical quality silicon menstrual cup would cost Rs. 200
ENVIRONMENT
A single woman can generate up to 125 kg of non-biodegradable waste through her menstruating years alone by using sanitary napkins.	Zero non-biodegradable waste
Disposal of used sanitary napkins is an issue as there is no garbage collection in villages.	Reusable. Made of recyclable material.
Used Sanitary napkins not disposed off properly contaminate earth and water bodies.	No disposal required

Other Advantages of Menstrual Cups

Empowerment

Safety

Disposal of napkins in villages is very difficult as there are no collection of garbage there. Many women wait for night to fall and slip out to farms to burn them which is also unsafe.

Easy management

Women feel more empowered and control of their bodies as management of menstrual periods become easy.

Increase in Productivity

Most rural women are part of the work force. Almost 2 months every year and 3 years of their life they lose out because of non access to any menstrual management products.

Increase in enrolment in schools

Statistics show that most girls from rural areas drop out of school at the onset of their menstruation due to unavailability of menstrual products.

Health

Reduction in infections

They are presently using old, dirty cloth which results in infections of the reproductive organs and can also result in major issues like infertility.

In Uttar Pradesh, 81 percent used homemade alternatives like old cloth, rags, hay, sand, or ash.

Affordability

Menstrual cups are cheap, one time buy which can be donated through CSR funds

Hygienic

Can be easily washed and sterilised at home.

ADVANTAGE TO THE NATION

336M

Menstruating Women in India

36%

Use Disposable Sanitary Napkins (121M women)

12.3B

Disposable Sanitary Napkins per Year

Key National Benefits:

With more and more women using sanitary napkins, this number is only going to increase. Timely intervention is of utmost importance

Rural women constitute 50% of the rural work force, which would indirectly add to the man hours of work force available to the nation.

School/College attendance would rise resulting in better work force for the nation.

At 5 days per month and a conservative estimate of 25 years, we are looking at almost 4 years of quality life for 50% of the population. In man hours terms, this could be a huge number.

How we do it differently at Saksham

Our Insight

There is a lot of reluctance even amongst the urban educated class in using a menstrual cup. Our experience shows that rural women were more forthcoming after getting over the initial hesitation as firstly they do not have access to sanitary napkins (medical shops are far away), the cheap Rs.1 pads are not good and the branded ones are expensive, disposal is difficult as there is no waste collection in villages.

Our Philosophy

We at Saksham believe in holding hands for the women in whatever we do. Thus we do not just distribute the menstrual cups. Every woman has to wear the cup, walk around and learn to remove them under the supervision of a gynecologist and if she is comfortable, only then is she given the cup.

Our Process

Medical Camps

Organize medical camps in association with the Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecologist Societies of India (FOGSI), Bhopal Chapter, who are our partners.

Education & Demonstration

Explain the working of Menstrual Cup with the help of a physical model of a woman's reproductive parts. Our volunteers share their personal experience and video from you-tube are shown.

Hands-on Training

Irrespective of their menstruation period, women have to wear the cup. Only after they are comfortable in inserting, removing and walking around, the right size of cups are handed over to them.

Follow-up Support

A follow up is taken once a month for two consecutive months on the phone and then after a year to close it.

Why are Menstrual cups not popular?

Market Reality

2021: Indian sanitary napkin market reached US$ 618.4 Million

2027 Expected: US$ 1,185.0 Million (9065 crores)

The major players are multi-national companies like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson with their brands Whisper & Carefree.

Marketing Influence

Since sanitary pads are a huge part of their profits and are a recurring profit, millions of dollars are spent on their advertising and hence have more visibility

Education Gap

All studies that assessed use of menstrual cups used some form of education and training on the menstrual cup. Hence a cup cannot be tried without proper support.

Historical Issues

Menstrual cups have been around for a long time. The earlier ones were made of rubber, latex and had many issues. With advancement in material sciences, the present medical grade silicone based cups are much superior, comfortable and easy to use.

Improving Menstrual Health Management through Menstrual Cups

Healthcare Initiatives – Saksham SERI

Our Work