Providing menstrual hygiene to vulnerable populations using a decentralized model

In India alone, there are 355 million menstruating women and very few women have access to basic menstrual hygiene products. 88% of menstruating women in India use home-grown alternatives like old fabric, rags, newspapers, hay, plastic, etc. Girls are typically absent for 20% of the school year due to menstruation, which is one of the major reasons for girls to miss school. 70% increase in incidence of reproductive tract infections owing to poor menstrual hygiene.

The 'Business in the Box' is a menstruator-led, community-based program that takes a three-pronged approach to: 1) eradicate the cultural stigma surrounding menstruation, 2) provide economic and livelihood opportunities to low-income women, and 3) ensure access to affordable, retail-quality sanitary napkins in low-income communities. The proposed project would provide affordable sanitary pads to marginalized women and girls along with earning opportunities.

The project completed its transition to scale in six locations in India, educated more than 28,000 women and girls, and provided earning opportunities to more than 600 marginalized women.