| Reporting Organization: | Women's Global Health Innovations |
|---|---|
| Total Budget ($CAD): | $ 200,000 |
| Timeframe: | September 30, 2018 - January 28, 2020 |
| Status: | Completion |
| Contact Information: |
Leisa Hirtz [email protected] |
Women's Global Health Innovations
| Uganda - $ 200,000.00 (100.00%) | |
| Adolescent Health (25 %) | |
| Reproductive Health & Rights incl. Maternal Health (25 %) | |
| Sexual Health & Rights (25 %) | |
| Gender Equality (25 %) | |
Worldwide, women and girls can often not manage their menstruation with dignity due to lack of adequate and private facilities as well as safe, acceptable and accessible menstrual health products and knowledge. These critical health challenges are further exacerbated during displacement and conflicts. In humanitarian and conflict-affected settings, menstrual health management (MHM) is often overlooked, as it is not considered urgent. Women’s Global Health Innovations (WGHI) developed an improved, innovative anti-microbial version of the Menstrual Cup, the Bfree menstrual cup
The Bfree pilot intervention aimed to introduce the Bfree anti-bacterial menstrual cups to adolescent girls through integration into the school’s program. The project was carried out over a period of 14 months. The aim of the intervention was to assess the acceptability and possible potential impacts of menstrual cups as an MHM method for girls in the refugee context. The primary target group was girls and boys in schools, teachers and health workers within the humanitarian context to promote a supportive environment in the school setting.
Project objectives:
1. Provide menstrual health education to both boys and girls in two schools in Adjumani District. 2. Provide a sustainable menstrual health management solution (Bfree cup) to girls in two intervention schools. 3. To provide sufficient education to secondary support individuals from the two schools and other stakeholders in the community 4. Ensure engagements of the boys at all levels of implementation with aim of reducing the stigma caused. 5. Assess the intervention using different monitoring and evaluation methods to determine whether the intervention is effective and can be scaled up.
| Gender and age: | Adult women Adult men Adolescent females Adolescent males |
|---|---|
| Descriptors: | Refugees |
| Total Direct Population: | 850 |
| Total Indirect Population: | 20,000 |
| WASH facilities improved | |
| 13 | Training of trainers conducted |
| 2 | Water drains installed |
| 3 | Latrines renovated |
| 458 | Beneficiaries trained |
| 628 | Evaluation forms and knowledge tests completed |
| 662 | Bfree cup kits distributed |
Unspecified
The intervention consisted of pre-intervention exploratory visits, and inception meeting with key stakeholders, training of trainers, training of beneficiaries (both girls and boys) on MHM, distribution of a menstrual health kit containing a menstrual cup, and follow-up refreshers and M&E visits. In total, 10 local teachers, 2 War Child Canada staff, and 1 government officials were trained as trainers in menstrual health and 212 schoolgirls received training and a Bfree Cup Kit containing three different sized volume menstrual cups (10ml, 15ml & 25ml). The project improved the WASH facilities at the two intervention schools by repairing and renovating the handwashing facilities and ensuring access to water close to the toilet facilities. It also improved the knowledge on menstrual hygiene and menstrual cup usage for both boys and girls.
