SafepadTM reusable sanitary pads empowering Rohingya refugee women in Bangladesh
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, September 30, 2020
As part of the UNHCR Self Reliance Project Activities, Real Relief has in close partnership with the NGO Forum for Public health incepted the Sanitary Pad Production Project in the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
Under the protective wing and clear guidance of Mr. Ataur Rahman, Project coordinator of NGOF-UNHCR WASH Project, a Safepad production center has been set up in the Kutupalong Refugee camp with the assistance of our Safepad Bangladesh office headed by the C.E.O, Mr. Tahmid Kamal Chowdhury & Mrs. Trine Angeline Sig, Managing Director of Real Relief and co-designer of Safepad.
Safepad ™ is the highly effective, reusable sanitary pad, that contains a permanent self-sanitizing antimicrobial treatment, effectively reducing fungi and bacteria during use and after washing, even if contaminated water is used. After extensive market research, it was opted for by the UNHCR for exactly those reasons, plus the fact that it has an estimated lifetime of at least 3 years, thus alleviating the menstrual waste - and environmental impact considerably.
The main barrier to poor menstrual hygiene is lack of attention and funding. Setting up a sustainable supply chain, making quality menstrual hygiene products and proper educational information available is key.
Given the multiple challenges women and adolescent girls face, it is evident that promoting menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is not only a sanitation matter; it is also an important step towards safeguarding the dignity, bodily integrity and overall life opportunities of women and girls. In order to achieve a more sustainable future, we must ensure that menstrual health is higher up on the agenda.
The Safepad Sanitary Pad Production Project in the Kutupalong camp aims to strengthen the livelihood of Rohingya refugee women and prevent their dependence on humanitarian assistance so that they are better equipped to claim their civil, cultural, economic and social rights, all whist providing not only new hope and strength, but above all, a solid basis for female empowerment and equality for the benefit of long-term economic growth and societal development.
After being given the necessary and professional training, the Rohingya refugee women are now happily engaged in the sewing, finishing and packaging of the first 128.000 of foreseeably many future Safepads.
In this way, their newly gained self-reliance and encouraged self-sustainability empowers them to generate a sustainable income, help build local capacity, contribute to create sustainable business, directly with the involvement of and within the community.
As the project evolves as is highly expected, the successes can trickle down to enhance other livelihoods through marketing and commercialization, with the objective of alleviating poverty through sustainable production, job creation and thus making SafepadTM not only the innovative reusable sanitation pad, but moreover a safe path to a promising future for the Rohingya refugee women and other women of concern around the globe.
Real Relief. Making a real promise.
More information about SafepadTM is available at www.realreliefway.com or by contacting: Real Relief Managing Director, Trine Angeline Sig at ts@realreliefway.com, or mob.: +45 2826 2600 and/or by contacting our Bangladesh partner Mr. Tahmid Kamal Chowdhury at tkc@safepadbd.com, or mob: +880 1784 864519 and +880 1940876738.
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