Are you looking for charities that are working on period poverty alleviation? Do you want to support the best charity fighting against period poverty? Well you’ve come to the right place!
According to the World Bank, period poverty affects more than 500 million people globally.
There are many organisations around the world that are creating solutions to menstrual poverty and through programs including menstrual product donations, hygiene access advocacy and women’s healthcare outreach.
At Asan, we have a unique approach to eradicating period poverty through working closely with communities to provide sustainable solutions.
But before we get into that, let's begin by understanding exactly what period poverty is.
what is period poverty?
Period poverty can be understood as the lack of access to resources you need to safely manage your period.
This includes having access to menstrual health education, high quality period products, and a safe space to ask questions about menstruation.
Many women and girls around the world face daily challenges when it comes to managing their periods, such as:
- Not being able to afford period products.
- Not having access to a toilet or private space to change your period product.
- Not having an efficient waste disposal system.
- Using low quality period products which cause rashes, discomfort and vaginal infections.
- Not having access to medical professionals to address any menstrual health issues.
To address this crisis, there are many period support charities providing menstrual poverty relief globally.
To learn more, read this blog about understanding period poverty.
what is Asan’s approach to providing solutions to menstrual poverty?
While there are many sanitary product options for women, it is crucial to assess the quality of period products that communities have access to. The main issue being faced by women and girls globally is a lack of access to high quality period products to safely manage your period.
That’s why Asan has developed a five step criteria to define whether a period product or solution is safe and effective. This includes:
- Affordability: Are there affordable and accessible period products available for women and girls?
- Comfort and quality: Are the period products available comfortable and sustainable?
- Storage: Is the period product discreet and easy to use in private?
- Cleaning: Can the period product be cleaned and maintained easily?
- Disposal: If the period product needs to be discarded, is there a safe and effective way to do this?
With this in mind, let's understand exactly how Asan is working to eradicate period poverty.
why is the Asan cup the best solution to period poverty?
At Asan, we strongly believe that access to safe and high quality period products is a basic human right - no matter where you’re from. That’s why for every Asan cup sold, we donate one to someone who doesn’t have access to period care. In addition to Asan’s 1-for-1 donations program, we work with private donors and businesses to implement large-scale period poverty eradication programmes around the world.
The Asan cup is the perfect solution for women and girls suffering from period poverty because of five key reasons:
- Quality: It is the highest quality menstrual cup in the world and has a unique removal ring, making it super easy to use.
- Sustainability: All you need for 10 years is one Asan cup, making it a super sustainable option as it averts the waste of 2500 sanitary pads.
- Affordability: The Asan cup is provided for free to communities who need it most. Hence, it enables users to save up to Rs.15000 over 10 years.
- Maintenance: The Asan cup is super quick to clean and reuse within your own home. It also comes with an eco-friendly storage pouch which makes it very easy to maintain.
- Privacy: The Asan cup can be used privately and without any hassle. This means women no longer need to worry about drying their period rags out in the sun or going to a local store to buy period products - relieving them of a huge anxiety.
Along with providing the Asan cup to underprivileged communities, Asan has an extensive behavioural change program which enables monthly cycle empowerment, menstrual needs assistance and access to menstrual education.
how is Asan eradicating period poverty?
Asan’s holistic approach goes beyond sanitary product distribution, and involves working closely with grassroot NGOs in rural India on long-term programs.
Through Asan’s train-the-trainer model, we enable NGO staff with the skills and resources required to help their communities comfortably adopt the Asan cup. As the NGO staff are women from the community, this creates a trusted environment where women and girls have a safe space to ask questions about anything related to periods.
The Asan cup adoption program involves menstrual health education, Asan cup training sessions, and extensive focus group follow-ups for six months months after the initial Asan cup distribution.
Our model provides hand-holding support to Asan cup users and we continue to work with a community until there is a 90% adoption rate. So far, Asan has provided the Asan cup to 20,000 women and girls who previously did not have access to safe period care.
Read this blog to learn about Asan cup adoption across 60 villages in Kanakpura, Karnataka.
Asan is also actively involved in eradicating period poverty in the UK through enabling awareness and access to menstrual cups. We provide Asan cups and educational resources to UK charities to help conduct menstrual health education sessions in schools and universities.
how can I help with period poverty?
There are many ways you can help, such as:
- Get involved in period activism protests in your city to push for policy-level change in menstrual health.
- Volunteer with a menstrual equity organisation in your local area.
- Donate to women’s health nonprofits that are providing womens sanitation aid and working directly with communities in need.
- Conduct a fundraiser with your family and friends to provide period products for women and girls who aren’t able to accord them.
- Make the switch to the Asan cup to sponsor a worry-free period for yourself and someone who can’t access high quality period care.
