The safe space for Nigerian girls facing period poverty

PLAN International is a global organization that works to increase the rights and access to gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly, and inclusive menstrual health management. The organization set up Pad Banks in schools and has also partnered with local advocacy groups to train and educate young women and girls on menstrual health and hygiene, all in hopes to address stigma, misinformation, and period poverty.

Tucheze Mtaani provides sexual reproductive health education support to young, school-age girls, specifically those in remote, rural areas where access to menstrual products and sexual education is scarce. The group provides educational resources, mentorships and counseling, as well as access to pads and sanitary supplies within schools to ensure girls feel supported at school and no longer have to miss days or drop out altogether.

be artsy's Rato Baltin project uses culturally relevant education, menstrual kit distribution, and engages religious leaders to challenge discriminatory practices against those who menstruate. Since launching in 2017, the group has reached 80,000 people and distributed over 5,500 menstrual cups, while simultaneously helping shift perspectives around menstruating.

The Advocacy for Human Value Foundation works to protect vulnerable communities — like women and children — in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps due to the Boko Haram crises. The Foundation has addressed fundamental community needs by increasing access to water and hygiene facilities, healthcare services, educational opportunities, safety practices and has even partnered with entrepreneurs to empower women with profitable skills and small grants to help make them more independent.

Girls&More educates girls on menstruation, puberty and menstrual hygiene. The group travels to schools and throughout rural communities to talk to girls and provide them with sanitary pads and other resources they may struggle to access.

To reduce unplanned pregnancies, Delaware "embarked on an ambitious experiment" that worked to eliminate barriers that prevented women from pursuing alternative forms of birth control, such as cost and convenience. After two years, rates of unplanned pregnancies decreased by 15 percent.

In Niger, an initiative challenging menstrual stigma is promoting knowledge and hygiene through community engagement and mentorship. Since 2019, the foundation has reached over 20 schools, 35 communities, more than 3,000 women and girls.

The Pad-A-Girl project by the Citizen Participation Advancement and Awareness Initiative (CPAAI) helps those experiencing period poverty, particularly girls in primary and secondary schools and underprivileged women. CPAAI offers washable pads that are good for five years, installed pad banks in area schools and taught the women and girls how to create washable pads themselves. The program launched in 2020 and has since helped more than 7,000 women and girls across 25 schools and communities.

The Sebastian Indian Social Projects (SISP) works with socio-economically disadvantaged communities, providing social services like healthcare and employment assistance with a primary focus on educating youth. SISP has focused on educating the local female population, which has helped empower them economically and led to several women receiving jobs outside of their village. SISP has also educated several students who were forced to drop out of traditional school and provides supplementary activities along with their standard education, such as skating and coding clubs.

Attitudes towards the legalization of sex work are changing around the world, and now some cities have even started considering public spaces for sex work while developing urban infrastructure plans. From Cologne, Germany (where there are "sex drive-throughs" that are equipped with safety features, facilities for rest, and toilets for the workers) to Amsterdam (where they are developing new rules for window-based sex work), governments are now increasingly inviting sex workers and their representatives to the negotiating table.