Periods, don’t stop for pandemic

The world is going through tough times with the pandemic Covid-19, which has infected over 14,41,128 people and killed 82,992 people in the past 4 months. In India, after receiving cases from international travel (Stage I), the infection is now spreading locally (Stage II) at a faster rate, with the reported number of cases at 5,194 and death toll at 149, as on 8th April 2020 morning. With the growing cases, the prime minister decided to have a complete lock-down to save its citizen which has taken the face of a global pandemic.

News of lock-down hit people like there will be famine resulting in taking leverage of daily essentials as much as they can result in scarcity for those who are truly in need. Realizing such atrocities of store up daily essentials by citizens' government then releases a set of essential goods of utter importance during this pandemic and absence of menstrual and hygienic products for women. Infact, they are never a part of disaster relief response. As per NFHS 4 data, approximately 56 percent of menstruates in India use hygienic sanitary items, including locally prepared sanitary pads (16%), commercial sanitary pads (42%), and tampons (2%) in combinations. And, under current situation, when life has stooped; people are facing problems in meeting basic necessities, sanitary pad is listed as non-essential item, this could lead women to switch to the less hygienic alternatives; adding further risk to the women health.

Online multinational companies like Amazon and Big Basket and others are not being able to get access to these products due to the obscurity of the entire situation, making it even more difficult for women and trans-men with disabilities especially from not so good economic backgrounds to get access to these products. When women do not have access to proper sanitation and hygiene facilities, it creates a higher risk for contagion for any infectious disease. Menstruation makes the need for safe water, sanitation and hygiene, especially, important for women. In such conditions, access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene can be a matter of life and death. According to a report published by WaterAid, illnesses related to a lack of water, basic sanitation and hygiene were responsible for the deaths of almost 800,000 women around the world in a single year making it the fifth biggest killer of women behind heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Considering this, our organization decided to provide sanitary pad with ration kits.



Zarina Ahmed (Co-founder), Nafisa (Volunteer) Sahegaami . 



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