Today’s Solutions: November 02, 2024

Period poverty is a term that describes where girls or women are unable to afford or access sufficient menstrual hygiene products.

It is often seen as a problem confined to developing countries, but several studies have exposed that period poverty impacts millions of people in the world’s richest nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. That’s why the New Zealand government said Wednesday that it will provide free sanitary products in schools across the country in an effort to tackle period poverty.

The New Zealand government is investing NZ$2.6 million ($1.7 million) in the initiative, which will be first rolled out at 15 schools in the Waikato region of the country’s North Island during term three of this year. The program will then expand nationwide to all state schools by 2021.

A health and well-being survey from New Zealand-based Youth19 found 12% of students in Year 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) who menstruate reported difficulty accessing sanitary products due to affordability. And around one in 12 students reported having missed school due to a lack of access to sanitary products.

“Menstruation is a fact of life for half the population, and access to these products is a necessity, not a luxury,” said New Zealand’s Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter.

The initiative is part of a wider effort to reduce child poverty in the country.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

This heartwarming Danish ad breaks down the ‘Us vs Them’ narrative

It’s rare that we publish a story about an advertisement, but then again it’s rare that an ad stirs so much emotion within its ...

Read More

NOAHs: Charlotte has a formula for long-lasting affordable housing

We recently shared how empty retail space could be the solution to California’s affordable housing crisis. Across the country in North Carolina, the city ...

Read More

A seat at the table for underrepresented communities

Climate change is already affecting all of us—however, those that bear the brunt of these consequences are predominantly from low-income, marginalized, BIPOC communities. So ...

Read More

Expanding democracy: Michigan opens new doors for formerly incarcerated voters

Malijah Gee's path from incarceration at the age of 17 to imminent freedom reflects the longing for a voice that has been suppressed for 36 years. ...

Read More