By: Smita Gaith, Women Deliver
Last month, the Safaricom Foundation, a charity funded by telecom provider Safaricom Limited and Vodafone Group Foundation, announced it would be supporting the Huru Re-usable Sanitary Pad Project. The project is run by Huru International, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Kenya.
Years of research have repeatedly demonstrated that the unavailability of sanitary pads plays a major role globally in young girls’ dropout rates and missed days of school. According to Huru’s website, many girls miss 3 to 4 days of school every month due to their menstrual period, and according to UNICEF, 1 in 10 girls in Africa do not attend school while menstruating. This project supports initiatives that are already in place by the Government of Kenya, which has already pledged money towards providing free sanitary pads. Read more...