The Sesame Street of Sex Ed: Ugandan Show Uses Puppets to Break Taboos

Arise for Girls is an organization designed to educate young girls about menstrual hygiene, as period poverty and stigma are very apparent in rural areas. The organization provides educational resources, sanitary pads, and provides a sense of community by encouraging girls to connect with each other via WhatsApp. Since May 2021, the organization has helped over 1,400 girls in neighboring areas.

In South Africa, public health nurses have a tendency to act more like a parent than a nurse when teenage girls visit the clinic to be tested for HIV, ask for birth control or get antiretroviral treatment. To change this reputation and behavior, Makhulu Media and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation collaborated to make a virtual reality film that shows the nurses how their behavior is often interpreted by the patient.

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.

Compared with other developed countries, the United States has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy. However, Colorado has collaborated with foundations, private donors, and has taken advantage of Obamacare’s coverage to offer free long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) for several years. The program providing LARCs has contributed to a drop in the teenage abortion rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, and fewer children born in poverty, all while being a cost-saving measure for taxpayers.

Village Health Teams are groups of community health workers helping rural women access family planning services. They travel from home to home offering counseling, education and connection to the resources women need but struggle to access, including condoms and pills, often all without having to visit a health facility. VHTs have reached several thousand residents, both with short and long-term contraceptive methods.

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.

She Deserves Uganda provides menstrual hygiene education to young girls and an organic aromatherapy solution to pain from period cramps they call The Cramp Relief Droppers, as a safer and more affordable alternative to traditional over-the-counter painkillers. The group has provided menstrual health education to over 10,000 girls across 50 schools and has distributed over 1,540 units of The Cramp Relief Droppers.

The Inspire Women, Men and Children (IWMC) youth empowerment group is teaching women and young girls how to construct reusable sanitary pads in an effort to address period poverty and prevent them from missing school and work during menstruation. The group follows up with students to ensure they’ve properly constructed pads with safe materials and also further educates teachers on how to provide support to students who menstruate.

Brencare Foundation’s Safe Space Project meets once a week within local schools to provide menstrual health, hygiene, sexual and gender-based violence education to girls in need. So far, the Foundation has reached about 5,000 women and girls across several communities with its education efforts.

The Balm in the Gilead Foundation (BIGIF) gathers survivors of female genital mutilation to become advocates in their community for the end of the practice. BIGIF has over 300 volunteers across the country and has reached over 100 women and girls with its messaging. BIGIF visits schools and churches, go door-to-door, hosts walks and even runs a 30-minute radio program to raise awareness and educate community members.