Another sanitary application

(Adopted from:http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/artandculture/Another%20sanitary%20application/-/1222/944936/-/wquepn/-/index.html)

For the first time anywhere in Sub-Sahara Africa, women and girls from especially resource poor backgrounds will their hands on a different kind of sanitary application. A research organisation is currently trying out what is now called a menstrual cup.

Made up of silicone, the cup can be used for up to ten years. It is inserted internally, lower than the way a tampon is inserted. Rather than being absorbed menstrual fluid is collected into the cup. This is unlike in the case of a sanitary pad or tampon. A pilot study by the African Population Health and Research Centre (APHRC) is now underway, to ascertain whether or not the menstrual cup can be rolled out in large scale. “Women and girls in Korogocho slums have been identified who will use the cup for up to four months, after which they will be interviewed about their experiences,” explained Rhoune Ochako, a research officer at APHRC.

The centre is also conducting a comparative study on its acceptability among urban poor women and also thee well to do counterparts. Some 15 women from Korogocho slums and 21 others from both Harambee and Jericho estates in Nairobi will be evaluated for this study. In addition 25 girls from two schools in Korogocho slums have been identified to participate. Up to 86 women are targeted for the study. Even though the cup is only now being introduced in Sub-Saharan Africa, it has been used for decades elsewhere in the developed world.

Rhoune Ochako, a research officer at APHRC explains how the cup works.

The US and the UK has been using it since the 1930s. It is hoped that once girls begin using the cup, it will help them stay in school and lower the rate of absenteeism. Surveys in the country have shown that many school girls drop out of school, during menstruation. Since they cannot afford sanitary pads, they opt out of school. A qualitative survey conducted recently by the Great Lakes University in Kisumu showed that many girls of ages 12 years and above do not attend school during menstruation. This was due to lack of sanitary pads. The survey showed that majority of these girls were from poor families and some of them were orphaned due to HIV/ Aids.

As a matter of fact the survey indicated that girls as young as 12 years have turned into prostitution in order to get money to buy sanitary pads. “When compared to boys, school drop-out rate is high among girls. Likewise academic performance of girls in both primary and secondary school is poor,” said Berther Juma Kokach of the Eastern Africa Collaboration for Economic Social and Cultural Rights (EACOR). “This has been attributed to the girls’ consistent absence from class occasioned by, among other reasons, the lack of sanitary pads for use during their 3 to 7 days menstruation period,” she said. The organisation has been mobilizing efforts to help poor girls get access to sanitary pads, including coming up with a sanitary bank. The menstrual cup will cost Sh 1000.

“We are working with development partners to see how these women can be assisted to afford the cup,” explained Ochako. Girls and women especially in the slums use unhygienic methods to clean themselves. They use either tissue paper, old clothes and in some instances old newspapers. Betty Chepkwony a nurse involved in the survey says that their main concern was to find out whether the cup can introduce any infections.

(Adopted from:http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/artandculture/Another%20sanitary%20application/-/1222/944936/-/wquepn/-/index.html)

 

 

Tags: Ochako; Rhoune Ochako; menstrual cup;

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