Swachh Vidyalaya Mission

Menstrual hygiene and management is an issue that is insufficiently acknowledged and has not received adequate attention in SDG 3 - Studies that make the problem visible to the concerned policymakers are very much warranted.

Adolescence is a vulnerable period in human life cycle characterized by rapid growth and development coupled within numerous physiological and psychological changes (NNMB, 2000) some problems faced by the adolescents in the project area are menstrual disorders, leucorrhoea and psychological issues.

The problem in numbers:-

• 35, 50, 00,000 menstruating women and girls in India

• 71% have no knowledge of menstruation before their first period

• 82% of girls use alternatives such as old cloth, rags, sand, or ash.

• Only 18% use sanitary pads

• 88% of adolescent girls are unaware of the health implications due to poor menstrual hygiene.

Health & Nutrition Status

• 56% of Adolescent Girls (AGs) are anaemic

• 47% are undernourished with low BMI

• 30% of adolescent girls give birth to their first child

• 41% of maternal deaths take place in 15-24 yrs

• Dropout rate (I-X): 57.29%

• 50% of adolescent girls marry before the age of 18

*Source: - Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI, on SABLA.

The Child Help Foundation initiative Swach Vidyalaya Mission will engage multi-sector groups, including governments, corporate CSR and the NGO community to sustain not only a discussion but encourage affirmative action on addressing menstrual hygiene management.

To achieve the mission, the CHFs theory of change adopts a three-pronged approach by:

• Educating girls, women, boys and men of good menstrual hygiene practices.

• Enrolling citizens and existing menstrual hygiene product users in a supportive, taboo-free environment to create an open forum for discussion and deliberation.

• Enabling the adolescent girls to access the best quality menstrual hygiene products as CSR commitment for Swacch Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya

Child Help Foundation Swachh Vidyalaya is a campaign in line with Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya Mission which aims for “at least one incinerator in the girl’s toilet block and niche to keep sanitary napkins.

The Benefits to School Children

1. Girls are particularly vulnerable to dropping out of school, partly because many are reluctant to continue their education when toilets and washing facilities are not private, not safe or simply not available. When schools have appropriate, gender-separated facilities, an obstacle to attendance is removed.

2. Basic facilities that provide for good hygiene and privacy, along with sensitive health promotion assist girls in staying in school and completing their education

3. The provision of water, sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities in school secures a healthy school environment and protects children from illness and exclusion. It is the first step towards a healthy physical learning environment, benefiting both learning and health

4. Clean water, sanitation, and menstrual hygiene in schools aim to make a visible impact on the health and hygiene of children through improvement in their health and hygiene practices. It improves children’s health, school enrolment, attendance and retention and paves the way for a new generation of healthy children. This is every girl child’s right.

5. By providing gender-segregated toilets, students are assured of privacy and dignity, a particularly important factor for girls’ school attendance.