The Sanitation Workers Knowledge + Learning Hub is the best source for all current news, trends, articles and updates on sanitation workers rights around the world.
Building on a human right-based approach, the Gender,Hygiene and Sanitation (GHS) Joint Programme, implemented by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), intends to support governments in assessing their policies, guidelines and budgets to better reflect women’s and girls’ rights …
There is limited documented information about the WASH experiences of women with disabilities in Cambodia. It is critical to listen to their voices in order to better shape programs and policies, and begin challenging discriminatory attitudes. Greater participation is the first step to ensuring that women with disabilities can access the facilities, services, and products to manage their WASH …
(2019)
The MHM Lab’s aim is simple: to transform menstruation into a matter of pride and help women and girls stop suffering in silence. By enabling safe and hygienic menstrual management (MHM), as well as safe reuse and/or disposal of menstrual hygiene products, the Lab allows women and girls to regain control of a basic but fundamental part of their well-being. Creating a welcoming yet efficient …
This Manual has been developed for trainers of WASH and for health practitioners, to enable them to speak confidently about an issue that is regularly shrouded in silence, and which impacts upon women and girls health, education and livelihoods. The Manual includes a series of learning units (LUs), which are aimed at teaching practitioners how to improve menstrual hygiene for women and girls. It …
From 2014 to 2018 the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and UN Women implemented the Joint Programme on Gender, Hygiene and Sanitation. The objective of the programme was to support governments with the design of inclusive and evidence-based policies in the water and sanitation sector with special attention to the needs of women and girls. The programme used Menstrual …
(2021)
For three decades the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) has operated as a global, multi-stakeholder membership and partnership organization working with poor people, organizations, governments, and local entrepreneurs to improve sanitation and hygiene at scale. WSSCC has been committed to a world in which everyone, everywhere can practice safe sanitation and hygiene with …
(2021)
The Native Medicare Charitable Trust (NMCT), the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (BMZ), the Karl Kübel Foundation (KKF) and the Karl Kübel Stiftung (KKS) organized various programmes due to MHM day celebration. They created a theme for MHM day 2021, which was “Time to celebrate our Womenhood”. Based on the theme they conducted a competition as well as various types of …
Female asylum seekers and refugees face challenges in access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) care and face disproportionate outcomes. Menstrual Health Management (MHM) has also been noted as a concern, particularly relating to a lack of knowledge and access to appropriate management methods. Implications for poor MHM are wide reaching, but there is little data relating to MHM and female …
Foreign sex workers in Denmark are triply marginalised - due to their profession, legal status, as well as in matters related to menstruation. This pilot project aimed to assess the acceptability of the menstrual cup (MC) as well as education in menstrual health management (MHM) amongst 26 women from this group using the 'Nest International’' centre, who volunteered to be part of the project. …
WoMena considers positive social norms as an essential component of menstrual health. Therefore, since its beginnings in 2012, WoMena has included community engagement, in particular male engagement, as part of its theory of change and policy. WoMena has also developed a 10-point strategy and reflected this in its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework.
Much of the literature on SRHR draws …
Every day, millions of women and girls have to manage their menstruation, an entirely natural physiological process, yet one that often remains considered too ‘private’ to discuss, let alone manage confidently. Menstrual stigma remains entrenched in societies the world over, but the lack of adequate hygiene facilities and safe menstrual products is particularly acute in many developing …
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected women more than men in several ways, according to studies. They have had to take care of patients while coping with lock-downs that have restricted access to daily necessities and basic services, including water, sanitation and hygiene. At the same time, however, women have shown great strength and leader-ship in managing the uncertainties and challenges …
This SWA Briefing Paper explores actions that can be taken by SWA partners that will improve gender equality in all aspects of their work.
While there has been significant progress over the last few decades, gender inequality continues to be one of the most pervasive human rights violations throughout the world. Despite considerable attention and commitment, including through the SDGs’ …
To celebrate the occasion of International Women’s day on March 8 th , the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) and the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) has launched a social media campaign on women in sanitation. The stories being shared on social media raises important questions, not just to women but also to men who are playing different roles across the full …
Improper disposal of menstrual waste is a noteworthy challenge when it comes to Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). Polymeric sanitary napkins, which have largely replaced cloth napkins, are made of material that is non-biodegradable, leading to the accumulation of used napkins in landfills. Accumulated menstrual waste can be hazardous because menstrual blood on napkins stagnates for a long time …
This open access handbook, the first of its kind, provides a comprehensive and carefully curated multidisciplinary genre-spanning view of the state of the field of Critical Menstruation Studies, opening up new directions in research and advocacy. It is animated by the central question: ‘“what new lines of inquiry are possible when we center our attention on menstrual health and politics …
Many women and girls worldwide do not have the knowledge, skills, services, and products or support to ensure their well-being during menstruation. Due to the link of menstruation with health, education, water and sanitation, and socio-economic factors, these challenges are even more urgent for those who menstruate in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). At the same time, there is evidence …
In peri-urban areas and small and medium towns, several studies have found women have problems finding safe and convenient toilets and drinking water. The toilets provided in resettlement colonies and tenements are often inadequate, unsafe and in poor condition. One of the main reasons for bad water and sanitation facilities in these resettlement areas is that women are usually not part of the …
Spurred by the growing body of evidence linking poor menstrual hygiene facilities to school absenteeism, a collaborative study by the Ministry of Education, the Bhutan Nuns Foundation, the Religion and Health Project and the Ministry of Health in partnership with UNICEF was undertaken in 2017. The study undertook both qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess the current issues facing …
The study ‘Analysis of Menstrual Hygiene Practices in Nepal: The Role of WASH in Schools Programme for Girls Education’, was commissioned by UNICEF Nepal in collaboration with the Health Research and Social Development Forum (HERD) in 2016 to explore the socio-cultural practices related to menstruation, its management and consequences pertaining to girls’ education. The research and …
In India, the state of Maharashtra has been pioneering innovations on MHM in both policy and practice since 2009. Government bodies, civil society organizations, social enterprises, and academia have collectively been proactive in generating robust evidence and approaches on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) for the past decade. A concerted action led by the state government, enabled systematic …
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As the UN Migration Agency, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; …
On the 2nd of December, SuSanA Africa Regional Chapter in collaboration with the Africa Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) hosted a webinar on the topic:
Innovative and evidence-based water initiatives that advance water sector transformation and catalyze systems change for improved gender equity. Questions, such as "What is being done?" and "What more do we need to do?" will …
The Sex for Water (SFW) Baseline Report assesses and provides evidence of existence of sextortion practice in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector for better intervention programming. It discusses the linkages between access to WASH services, corruption and sextortion. It also highlights other aspects of sexual abuse and the associated response and redress mechanism.
The survey was …
The world is alarmingly off-track to deliver sanitation for all by 2030. Despite progress, over half of the world’s population, 4.2 billion people, use sanitation services that leave human waste untreated, threatening human and environmental health. An estimated 673 million people have no toilets at all and practise open defecation, while nearly 698 million school-age children lacked basic …
Share this page on