I am seated on my couch over the weekend wondering where I will get the pads to distribute to girls in rural Nandi who have been asking me when I will visit them next. As I design he poster for my social media campaign, the one thought that keeps crossing my mind is, do people really understand the gravity of menstrual health issues , or grasp the harsh realities of period poverty? That a girl in Bungoma has to sit on a piece of cardboard for three days every month because she doesn’t have a pad, another in Nyeri tears her mattress apart just to soak up her flow, while another one in Nandi has to miss five days of school every month because of menstruation. Heartbreaking, right? I then keep asking myself, how do I communicate this issue in such a manner that I can be heard; in essence, how do I appeal to people’s emotions?
Before I could decide what to do, I decided to run an analysis using an AI-powered Twitter tool, developed by Brand Moran in a quest to find out what people were saying about menstrual health in Kenya, how it was framed, and the strides made. Allow me to say that the findings hit too close to home.
Did you know that over 54% of girls in Kenya still lack access to menstrual products? That means many are skipping school, using unsafe alternatives, and internalizing shame around something as natural as a period. These are the very issues we tackle every day at Living for others through our campaign dubbed Komesha Uzazi Utotoni.
For years, I’ve worked in schools and communities, first as a teacher, now as a development communicator and grassroots advocate. I’ve seen what period poverty looks like up close. I’ve seen and spoken to girls who stay home every month because their families simply can’t afford pads. I’ve handed out dignity kits funded by kindhearted donors like you. And still the need outweighs the help.
All is not lost; the report highlighted some bright spots too:
- Organizations like Kwanda are reclaiming over 375,000 hours of missed learning through locally made reusable kits.
- Groups like My Flow Foundation and EcoBana are showing how even KSh 75 donations can restore dignity.
- In counties like Kisumu and Migori, SRHR is being integrated with HIV care, a model that’s working.
But then the gaps hit hard:
Why are we still taxing menstrual products in 2025? Why are conditions like endometriosis and painful periods still spoken about in whispers? Why are we still calling menstruation a women’s issue? These are the very questions that deny me sleep at night
As someone deeply rooted in menstrual and reproductive health advocacy, I know we need:
- Policy change
#RemoveTheVAT and prioritize girls’ health in the national budget and scale up
- Community action:
Support local production of reusable products (e.g., Kwanda’s model).
Donate to initiatives like Living for Others or EcoBana.
- Education
Expand school programs on MHM and SRHR.
Leverage media (e.g., Twitter Spaces by Girl Kind Kenya).
At Living for Others, we’re walking this journey—raising funds, educating communities, and pushing for better systems. But we can’t do it alone.
This May, as we approach Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28), I invite you to take a stand.
Sponsor a dignity kit. Share a post. Start a conversation.
Because menstruation should never be a barrier. Leave a comment below.
Let’s keep turning insights into impact—and gaps into growth.
#KomeshaUzaziUtotoni #PeriodPower #LivingForOthers #SRHR #DignityForAll
