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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1406665

Ending Period Stigma and Poverty: Promoting Menstrual Health and Hygiene -Insights from the 2023 World Menstrual Hygiene Day Celebration events in the Hohoe Municipality in Ghana

Provisionally accepted
Sitsofe Gbogbo Sitsofe Gbogbo 1Israel Wuresah Israel Wuresah 1*Phyllis Addo Phyllis Addo 1Senam Klomegah Senam Klomegah 1Emmanuel Gbogbo Emmanuel Gbogbo 1Wisdom Axame Wisdom Axame 1Priscilla Klutse Priscilla Klutse 1Christopher Makam Christopher Makam 1Robert K. Dowou Robert K. Dowou 1Paramount E. Nelson Paramount E. Nelson 1Ishmael Boateng Ishmael Boateng 1Sarah O. Mantey Sarah O. Mantey 1Nuworza Kugbey Nuworza Kugbey 2Victor C. Doku Victor C. Doku 3Julie Hennegan Julie Hennegan 4Frank E. Baiden Frank E. Baiden 1Lydia Aziato Lydia Aziato 5Fred N. Binka Fred N. Binka 1
  • 1 School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Volta, Ghana
  • 2 University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya, Ghana
  • 3 Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 4 Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • 5 University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Volta, Ghana

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The 2023 World Menstrual Hygiene Day (WMHD) celebration at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) sought to create awareness about menstruation. Towards normalizing menstruation, the three-day event brought together key stakeholders and engaged community members on various topics relating to menstruation. Among the stakeholders were basic school teachers (13), school children (155), in a 2:1 female versus male ratio within the ages of 10 to 17 years, School Health and Education Program Coordinators (2), Health Officers (4), Academicians (15), University students (35), Media representatives (3), and Civil society representatives (130). Particular among these discussions were the biology of menstruation, nutrition related facts during menstruation, sociocultural, and mental health issues surrounding menstruation. These discussions were intended to incite more conversations about menstruation, and contribute towards the agenda 2030 goal of making menstruation a normal fact of life. The paper describes activities conducted to improve menstrual health, reduce period poverty, and involve men in breaking the stigma around menstruation. This contributes to creating supportive environments for menstruating individuals. Meanwhile, the lessons from the activities to celebrate WMHD in Ghana are relevant for other communities to consider replicating with consideration for contextual differences.

    Keywords: Menstrual health, Menstrual rights, World Menstrual Hygiene Day, Menstrual Health Education, Cultural acceptance

    Received: 25 Mar 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gbogbo, Wuresah, Addo, Klomegah, Gbogbo, Axame, Klutse, Makam, Dowou, Nelson, Boateng, Mantey, Kugbey, Doku, Hennegan, Baiden, Aziato and Binka. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Israel Wuresah, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Volta, Ghana

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.