Striving for Quality: What are standards and why are they important for menstrual health programming?

Many MHM programmes include the procurement and distribution of products and construction/improvement of waste disposal facilities. Both MHM products and disposal facilities have standards, standards for incinerators and alternative solutions for waste management solutions. This webinar will explore what standards are, why they exist (if they exist) and their importance to MHM. The first presentation will explore experiences from East Africa on standard-setting put into action. The second presentation will share the efforts in India to address the significant challenge of menstrual hygiene waste through the development of standards and protocols. After the presentations, we will discuss the challenges of using standards in programming on the ground.

Featured speakers:

• What are MHM product standards and why do we need them?  –  Lessons from East Africa

​Puleng Letsie, African Coalition for Menstrual Health Management and Sophia Grinvalds, AfriPads Ltd.

• Menstrual Waste Management – A Policy Perspective from India

Tanya Mahajan, Menstrual Hygiene Alliance India

Resources:

1. Menstrual Hygiene Management and Waste Disposal in Low and Middle Income Countries—A Review of the Literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2562