INSPOHEALTH

  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...