Name: Coronavirus is exacerbating menstruation health risks for those living in 'period poverty' - ABC News
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Coronavirus is exacerbating menstruation health risks for those living in 'period poverty' - ABC News

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Print contentPrint with images and other mediaPrint text onlyPrintCancelThe pandemic has seen some women and girls resorting to socks and old newspapers when getting their periods as menstrual products become more expensive or harder to obtain.The ongoing economic impact of COVID-19 has plunged millions deeper into "period poverty", posing health risks for people who menstruate across the globe. It's a reality being felt first-hand by 16-year-old Annmary Raduva and her 13-year-old sister Faith in Fiji."We have received a lot of messages regarding families impacted by COVID-19 about shopping priorities, with women choosing food over sanitary products," Ms Raduya said. "In some cases, they use non-friendly alternatives like socks, newspapers and old rags because they can't afford sanitary products."Although the Pacific island nation has reported just 32 cases of the new coronavirus and two deaths, international border closures have taken their toll on the tourism-driven economy, leaving one out of every nine without a job.Compounding the problem is the fact that sanitary products are imported in Fiji and supply chains have been disrupted.According to a report from Plan International in May, one in five girls and young women surveyed in the Pacific said prices had spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.Ms Raduya is a young climate activist, but she turned her attention to making "dignity kits" when she saw a need.The teenage sisters have delivered more than 600 packs to Fijian women and girls who told them they would otherwise be grappling with other alternatives. But with more than 800 million menstruating on any given day in the pandemic, period poverty — and enduring taboos around menstrual bleeding — are continuing to have an impact in Africa, Asia, and even Australia. "If we're talking specifically about period poverty, it's sometimes difficult to talk about, even here in Australia," said Méabh Friel, spokesperson for education charity One Girl."I think we really need to normalise that."In China, about 4 million schoolgirls are suffering period poverty, according to state-owned media China Comment.Earlier this month, a post on China's social media platform Weibo revealed women on low incomes in rural areas were struggling to purchase menstrual pads, at a cost of 21.99 yuan (about $5) for a pack of 100.Some netizens said sanitary products in China could cost up to $280 (1,000 yuan) per year, but more than 600 million people earn less than that in a month.Wang Wenjuan, founder of China's White Shell Project, established the national initiative aimed at improving accessibility to sanitary products and sexual education for girls in rural schools. She told state-owned media People's Daily that it was "disturbing" to find girls in the southern province of Yunnan using shreds of old cloths, toilet paper and paper ripped from their exercise books instead of sanitary products."Some children … can't even afford food and stationery, how can they afford spending on menstrual pads?" she said. "The period poverty is a painful and lonely issue lying neglected in a corner," she said.Menstrual health and hygiene has been an issue for India, which has the second-highest number of coronavirus infections after the United States.Dr Sanjay Gupte, former president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India, said routine supply of sanitary accessories was interrupted in many areas, including in well-off households, during lockdown.Dr Gupte said underprivileged families were struggling to use common sanitation facilities, where physical distancing and hygienic conditions cannot be assured."Especially in situations where large-scale COVID-19 care centres were utilised to isolate or quarantine patients with mild symptoms or patient contacts, the privacy and sanitation facilities were found to be extremely inadequate," Dr Gupte said. COVID-19 lockdowns, border closures and supply disruptions have limited access to menstrual hygiene products in 30 countries around the world, according to Plan International's Period in a Pandemic report."Periods don't stop during a pandemic," the report said. Silvia Devina, the charity's advisor for water, sanitation, hygiene and early childhood development, said taboos about discussing periods openly makes it difficult to tackle the issue, especially in Asia and Africa.She told the ABC it was important for educators to convey to both boys and girls that menstruation is not a taboo."Parents would not discuss [menstruation] with children. So what happened is they get the knowledge elsewhere from unreliable sources [such as] the internet," Ms Devina said."Boys [should] understand that it's normal. And they shouldn't bully their peers about menstruation," she said. Some Australians are fundraising to raise awareness about the period poverty that impacts millions of people who menstruate. Georgie Snare, an ambassador for the Do It In A Dress campaign, told the ABC that people could pick out tampons and pads on Australian supermarket shelves much more freely than people in Sierra Leone and Uganda."It's just like out in the open. You can just pick it up, you can take it. There's no stigma around it," Ms Snare said. "I was definitely shocked because it's such a taboo when you have your period in some of these countries."Just thinking that some girls don't even have access to a piece of cloth to use, it's just very jarring when you realise how lucky you are."Dean Taverton, co-founder of Sydney-based period product company Pixii, is also planning to don a dress for a 10-kilometre run. He's also committed to donate half his company's annual profits to the cause. "If it's a choice between a period product and food to put on the table — especially if you've got a family, you couldn't blame someone for choosing to put food on the table for their family first," he said. "Men clearly have no idea what it is like. It's just not talked about for something that affects more than half of the planet."More on:

Print contentPrint with images and other mediaPrint text onlyPrintCancelThe pandemic has seen some women and girls resorting to socks and old newspapers when getting their periods as menstrual products become more expensive or harder to obtain.The ongoing economic impact of COVID-19 has plunged millions deeper into "period poverty", posing health risks for people who menstruate across the globe. It's a reality being felt first-hand by 16-year-old Annmary Raduva and her 13-year-old sister Faith in Fiji."We have received a lot of messages regarding families impacted by COVID-19 about shopping...

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