Our favorite month is here and Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) is getting closer by the minute. MH Day (May 28th) is the perfect occasion to reflect on how we at The Case for Her can commit to further menstrual health in whatever arena we’re working in.

MH Wins We’ve Seen in 2021

MH Day is also a great time to look back over some of the successes we’ve seen in menstrual health over the past year. 

Progressions in Policy

We have seen substantial steps forward in adopting common language and practice through policy efforts. This includes the ISO approval of a new standardization area on menstrual products – the first global standard on menstrual products, which will cover both single- and multiple-use, regardless of material. For the first time, menstrual health was adopted into the 2022 Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy. Including menstruation in this year’s action plan improves the ability to independently finance and monitor menstrual health. We’ve also seen the introduction of a new definition of Menstrual Health developed in consultation with 51 expert stakeholders from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. 

“By defining menstrual health holistically, we aim to bring together stakeholders across sectors. This will help ensure menstrual needs are prioritized by all who have responsibility. A shared vocabulary can support collaboration and investment across silos in areas such as sexual and reproductive health, gender, education, and water, sanitation, and hygiene.” – Senior author Thérèse Mahon, Regional Programme Manager South Asia at WaterAid and Coordinator at Global Menstrual Collective

Growth

We were excited to see growth through several partners. Oky received follow-on funding from the Australian Government. The period and puberty app is scaling to deliver menstrual health and body autonomy to young people all over the world. Be Girl delivered over 177,000 pairs of period underwear to girls across the globe in 2021, making the impact of their product distribution greater in 2021 than in all previous years combined. We also saw Be Girl expand as they entered the Kenyan market by partnering with Kasha, which has grown of 936% in the past year!

“One of the reasons Kasha started was just recognition that women are so influential in the space as customers, as consumers. They, of course, have so many health needs. They menstruate every month for over 40 years — just one woman — and you can multiply that by billions,” – Joanna Bichsel, Founder and CEO at Kasha

Catalytic Investment

We saw female-first, female-led VC funds take a serious look at menstruation, with several funds picking up opportunities for investment in innovative and sustainable menstrual product companies. We also saw a move to sustainability and were excited to contribute to this area of growth and groundbreaking innovation through investment in Vyld and Planera

And finally in, to reach our goals of increasing investment we participated in releasing Making the Case for Investing in Menstrual Health and Hygiene – an analysis outlining what donors, national governments, and the private sector need to invest to accelerate progress for menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) created together with experts at Population Services International (PSI), PSI-Europe, WASH United, and Simavi, in collaboration with the Global Menstrual Collective. #WeAreCommitted to following this up with evidence from our own portfolio to guide future investment.

Looking forward

This year, the Global MH Day Secretariat is shifting focus. The “call for action” seen in previous years is moving to a demand for commitments. Using the hashtag #WeAreCommitted, organizations all over the world will publicly announce their commitments to a world where no one is held back because they menstruate. 

There are many ways to support menstruation with impact beyond measure. First and foremost, the menstrual health space is in dire need of funding – and there is no shortage of opportunities to fund menstrual health and improve the lives of half the population, both from a for-profit investor and a grant-making perspective. 

WE ARE COMMITTED to driving financial investment into menstrual health – be a part of the change and join us now! 

Head to the Menstrual Hygiene Day website for all the campaign materials you need to get involved by clicking the button below:

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