#KickOffTheDialogue2022

Kolding, Denmark, 5 May; 2022

The month of May started with us kicking of the dialogue on menstrual health #KickOffTheDialogue2022.

A campaign that is running throughout the month of May in the celebrations of The Worlds Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022 which is taking place on 28th May 2022.

We are taking actions to celebrate, share the knowledge and awareness throughout the whole month.

We are partnering with Global Goals World Cup and respresentants from 26 counties in kicking off this transnational dialogue on menstrual health and hygiene. Each day – one country will present their views on Menstrual Health issues.

Each day we encourage everybody to break the silence and tackle the stigmas and taboos that are often associated with a girls’ period. With your help, we can start a dialogue. As such, we are going to zoom in on the biggest challenges related to menstrual health and hygiene in each country. We will do so through a virtual campaign and by symbolically kicking an SDG football from country to country!

The difficulties facing girls and women across the world in relation to menstrual hygiene are numerous and unacceptable. The topic of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) continues to be a taboo subjected to shame and stigma. The lack of access to information, education, and products to manage one’s period with dignity and pride are essential.   

More than 130 million girls worldwide are missing out on school. Some of the reasons are lack of information and education on MHM, a lack of sanitary menstrual hygiene products, period poverty, and a lack of sanitary toilet facilities. Ultimately, this puts girls and women at risk of infection and disease, of early pregnancy, and of missing out on an education. In some societies, girls and women are considered “unclean” while on their period, and thus for that reason excluded from school as well as from other social events.

Altogether, girls and women are faced with barriers excluding them from parts of society, and we all share a responsibility to break down these barriers for good. In doing so, we are not only investing in the future of our girls and women, but just as much in the economic development of local communities and countries.

With this campaign, we share a common goal of putting menstrual hygiene on the agenda. We will do so with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs). As we kick off the dialogue, we aim to improve girls and women’s rights and opportunities for quality education, gender equality, and safe sanitation and hygiene (SDG 4, 5 and 6).

The entire event is presented on our official campaign page on Facebook (and Instagram), managed by Real Relief.

facebook.com/KickOffTheDialogue

instagram.com/kickoffthedialogue

Let’s kick off the dialogue!