Menstrual Health and Dignity for Girls and Women Menstrual health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being related to the menstrual cycle. It means that people who menstruate can access accurate information, manage their periods with dignity, get proper care for discomfort, and live free from stigma or exclusion. Menstrual health and dignity matter because roughly half of the world's population menstruates at some point in their life. An estimated 2.1 billion women and adolescent girls worldwide menstruate (WHO, 2026). Despite this, menstruation remains surrounded by misinformation, lack of education, insufficient resources, stigma, and harmful myths — including practices like menstrual confinement in some cultures. UNESCO estimates that one in ten girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during menstruation. Over the course of a year, this amounts to nearly 30% of school days lost, solely due to menstrual poverty. There's a lot of shame and sti...
If you spend time around African mothers and their toddlers, as many of us do, you've probably seen well-meaning but risky feeding habits: tapping the breast when a baby coughs, blowing air in a choking child's face, or force-feeding a baby who is clearly refusing food. These practices come from love and instinct, not carelessness, passed down because in a moment of panic, doing something feels better than doing nothing. But instinct isn't the same as evidence, and some inherited habits can make a dangerous moment worse. Here is what actually protects a child during feeding. 1. Aspiration vs. Choking — What's the Difference? These two words get used interchangeably, but they describe two different physiological events, and understanding the difference changes how you respond. Aspiration is when food, liquid, or saliva enters the airway or lungs instead of travelling down the esophagus into the stomach. It can happen quietly, sometimes without an obvious cough, and re...