Tackling period poverty must go beyond handing out pads

Kenya Association of Manufacturers head of communications Sally Kahiu with Del Monte Kenya Marketing Manager Margaret Nyoro donate sanitary pads to students of Kihunguro Primary School in Gatanga Constituency, Muranga County in celebration of Menstrual Hygiene Day.[Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

Every new school term in Kenya, the conversation about period poverty re-emerges, focusing on girls who miss class due to the lack of menstrual products. The most affected are learners from rural and marginalised areas, and urban slums. While this conversation is important, it tends to ignore the fact that period poverty - being unable to work or attend school because of lack of funds for sanitary products - is not just an education issue; it is a multi-dimensional crisis that affects health, human rights, and economic development.