“We acknowledge challenges women and girls encounter due to the economic burden of menstruation, which goes a long way to negatively impact the lives of women and girls.

Reusable pads come handy as a durable product that can sustain girls and women for at least two years before they think of purchasing a new product.

Nevertheless, menstrual health and hygiene should be approached broadly – sanitary towels, knickers, soap, access to clean water and economic empowerment. These should be packaged as one. Less than the whole package still presents challenges to women and girls.

In rural and poverty-stricken communities, like Karamoja, buying soap and knickers might sound a luxury when one is lacking food to put on the table for the household.

We have areas in Karamoja that have no access to clean water, what happens to the proper management of reusable pads?

The innovation is great enough. However, as efforts towards upscaling adoption of reusable pads intensify, the same energy or more should now shift to health and hygiene management of menstruation, before we get trapped in a new twist of challenges.

I have never used reusable pads, and I have not imagined what it takes to wash it and how long it takes to dry.

What happens during the rainy season in an event one has a limited number of reusable pads?

I shifted my thoughts to rural women and girls. For urban and able women and girls, reusable pads are ideal. Overall, reusable pads are an environmentally and economically friendly product.”

Lomuria Betty holds a BA degree in Community Psychology; is a Karimojong; and civil society actor now based based in Karamoja.

Ms. Lomuria Betty, who, according to her Facebook Profile, is passionate about social justice and holds her integrity in high regard. She has worked in the civil society sector for many years and in different capacities, including as a policy analyst, a programmes coordinator, a gender based violence programme officer, and a monitoring and evaluation assistant.

Let us look into Lomuria’s perspective a little deeper. According to prices published by JUMIA of reusable pads available in Uganda, a Ugandan made reusable cloth pad costs about Ug. Shs. 5,000 per piece.

During her menstrual cycle it is ideal for a woman or girl to have at least a set of 10 pieces of reusable pads, in order to enable her to maintain good menstrual hygiene. In which case, she will need to spend Ug. Shs. 50,000 at ago in order to buy 10 pieces of reusable pads, but which will last for two years – thus an expenditure of about 2,100 per month on pads.

In addition, she will need to have:

• Storage bag for her pads, when they are not in use.
• Three pairs of knickers, at least, at any given time.
• 250 grams of washing soap per month, at least.
• Small bucket with a lid for soaking used pads.
• Access to significant clean water for washing.

On the surface, reusable pads seem to make economic sense. Add the other additional costs for the entire package, including as listed above, that is required for one to maintain good menstrual hygiene while using reusable pads, it may not necessarily be the case.  Especially so, when you factor in the added inconveniences of washing, drying and storing of the reusable pads.  

Inconvenience is likely the major reason why the demographic, as suggested by Lomuria, the “urban able” woman or girl, has not embraced reusable pads. She would much rather buy and use disposal pads. Of which her annual budget would be about Ug. Shs. 120,000 per year. This is assuming her needs are two packs of pads per month, each containing eight pieces. That during her period, she will change her pads every four hours for four days per month.

And so, the reality on the ground is that the majority of Uganda’s 12 million menstruating women and girls (52 percent of the female population) are using disposal sanitary pads that are made out of 90 percent plastic. Meaning that about 200 million pieces of used sanitary pads are generated each month by Uganda’s menstruating women and girls.

Consequently, Uganda is faced with an environmental catastrophe for we do not yet have in place systems for the safe collection and disposal of single use disposal sanitary pads. The reality is that the majority of used single use disposable sanitary pads are mostly ending up in Uganda’s landfills, where they are chocking and damaging the land; causing pollution of water bodies; and are a public health concern.

Use pads disposed and other hazardous medical waste disposed off in Nkumba Landfill that services Entebbe Municipality.

It is against this background that CPAR Uganda would like to conduct empirical research, in order to establish the extent of the catastrophe. And on the basis of empirical research findings, propose and advocate for policy and action that need to be put in place and implemented. Specifically:

• Safely destroy the already existing volumes of used disposable pads in landfills.
• Stop hazardous medical waste, including used menstrual pads, diapers, condoms, etc., from ending up in landfills.

We cannot do it on our own. Help us achieve these objectives, make a donation in support of our Menstrual Hygiene Campaign. Click here to donate. THANK YOU!

Profile photo @ Lomuria Betty (far right) with other empowered women of Karamoja

LEARN MORE ABOUT CPAR UGANDA’S WORK AND CONTINUE TO ENGAGE

• Please share this post to others in your wider networks. And through comment, we would love to receive feedback from you.
• Follow us on Twitter @CPARUGANDA; read, like, reply to and share our tweets.
• Follow our Facebook page; read, like comment on and share posts.
• Subscribe to our website; read, like, comment and share our posts to your wider network.