WaterAid report urges integration of menstrual hygiene issues into aid policies

"Menstrual hygiene issues should be integrated into programs and policies across sectors, including water, sanitation and hygiene, reproductive health, emergency management, and education, notes a new report [.pdf]" by WaterAid, IRIN reports. Taboos and stigma associated with menstruation "leave many girls and women in low- and middle-income countries without access to sanitation facilities and excluded from school and opportunities," the news service writes. According to IRIN, the report "illustrates good menstrual hygiene-related policies and interventions, and provides modules and toolkits on topics such as sanitary materials; working with communities; providing sanitary facilities in schools and emergency situations; and aiding girls and women in vulnerable, marginalized or special circumstances," as well as "advocates further research and monitoring on these issues" (12/19).