Side event: Mainstreaming Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in South Asia: progress, gaps and realities from the ground

Time: 0900 to 1400 hrs
Date: 04/10/2018
Location:Islamabad, Pakistan, Kehkashan – I, Serena Hotel
https://sacosan .com/

At SACOSAN VII, this year, a side event to discuss the experiences around mainstreaming of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in South Asia will be hosted by the MHM working group in Pakistan in collaboration with WaterAid, UNICEF and WSSCC.

The session aims to facilitate a discussion on how policy measures and institutional practices can increase general awareness on MHM and help improve the health and well-being of adolescent girls in South Asia; thereby enhancing their socio-economic opportunities, achievements and overall development. The panel will present a regional perspective of south Asia, drawn from recent analysis of country level experiences from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It will showcase examples from the ground, capturing the progress made and existing gaps, reflecting on targeted measures to improve girls and women’s issues around MHM particularly in school settings, while emphasizing on the need for action by all governments in the region.

The side session will bring together relevant Government ministries, parliamentarians, donor organisations, academia, health sector, media, civil society, adolescent girls, religious leaders, and UN agencies to discuss and share experiences; and reflect upon critical progress and gaps, and make relevant commitments to accelerate progress on MHM in the region. This side event is especially relevant as it will help to identify practical recommendations and good practices that will facilitate effective implementation of MHM programmes at regional, national and local levels. The event will focus on key issues such as enabling environment: policies, resources, standards for MHM; sustainable delivery – programming at scale through integration across sectors and Voice and accountability – reaching the most marginalized, responding to the rights of women and girls.

For more information read four this page overview document outlining the background behind this work, along with key findings, gaps and ways forward to emerge from the recent regional review.