of women (ages 15–24) still lack access to hygienic menstrual products

30%

72%

of women in India don't have access to all essential menstrual health resources (period products, an improved toilet, water, and soap)

In India...

Indonesia

• Around 1 in 4 girls in Indonesia say they never received information about menstruation before their first period.

• In a survey, 46% of girls (477 / 1,038) reported sanitary pads were available during menstruation; the rest resorted to cloth or other materials.

• Poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is significant: in one junior high cohort, 64.1% reported poor MHM practices and 11.1% missed at least one day of school during their last period.

• For schools: only ~47% had access to basic sanitation and ~66% had basic hygiene services.

East Malaysia

• Formal national data for rural Sabah are limited, but some national indicators for Malaysia include:

  • One study found more than 50% of girls in Malaysia report wanting to skip school when menstruating.

  • Government reports estimate around 130,000 teenage women from the bottom 40% income households (B40) do not have access to sanitary napkins.

Nigeria

• An estimated 37 million women and girls in Nigeria experience period poverty: they cannot access or afford menstrual hygiene products.

• In Kaduna State (a sample region) only 37% of women aged 15-49 have everything they need (clean materials, disposal places, pain medication) for proper MHM.

• Girls in Nigeria lose roughly 24% of potential school days due to menstruation-related issues.

• Additional challenge: Sanitary pads cost the average Nigerian household nearly 11% of monthly income.