NAIROBI, Kenya – Ahead of this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day to be marked on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, a group of Kenyan activists under the Nguvu Collective has addressed period poverty and menstrual stigma across the country.
This annual event aims to raise awareness about menstrual hygiene management, combat period poverty, and address the stigma and taboos associated with menstruation globally.
This year, the celebrations are under the theme “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld,” urging collective action to ensure that menstruation does not limit access to education, health, or opportunity.
The day is part of a larger movement towards creating a period-friendly world, emphasising that menstruation is a natural process and not a barrier to education, health, or human rights for those who menstruate.
Meanwhile, under the theme “Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld,” the Kenyan activists’ grassroots campaigns are pushing for policy action, transparency, and dignity for all menstruators.
🚨 It is time to Wear Red for Dignity! 🚨This May, as we count down to Menstrual Hygiene Day 2025, we are calling on everyone—advocates, friends, volunteers, students, professionals, followers, and everyday changemakers—to join us in taking a bold stand against period poverty.
In 2025, one of Kenya’s fundamental challenges is to build a progressive, gender-equal society while addressing issues like persistent period poverty, child marriage, and femicide. Experts say that while the nation has adequate policies and frameworks in place, grassroots implementation leaves much to be desired.
What the Menstrual Hygiene Day 2025 theme means to policymakers
Something as basic as access to menstrual literacy is missing in counties like Siaya despite the presence of a Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Policy. Activists hope that the theme of Menstrual Hygiene Day 2025 (Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld) will inspire policymakers to bridge gaps in implementing menstrual hygiene policies, particularly in rural communities.
While attempts are being made to ensure that menstruation does not limit access to education, healthcare, or opportunity, there is an urgent need to break cultural taboos and promote better menstrual health practices through concrete action.
This was illuminated in a recent study titled ‘Echoing Voices from the Grassroots on Dignified Period for All,’ released by the feminist organisation Nguvu Collective. It drew insights from nearly 10,000 girls and women across 45 counties in Kenya to reveal how period poverty continues to deny them dignity, disrupt their education, compromise safety, and limit their choices. Nguvu Change leaders in Kenya are amplifying the findings of the report with powerful campaigns at the grassroots level.
“In 2017, Kenya introduced a program under the Basic Education Amendment Act to provide sanitary pads to schoolgirls, aiming to reduce absenteeism. Although funding increased from Sh30 million to Sh960 million over the years, the distribution remains deeply flawed, with the nationwide survey revealing that only 23% of recipients found the supply adequate, while the majority either received too little or none at all,” says Nguvu change leader Amina Guyo of Isiolo County, the lead architect of the report.
JOIN the #DignityChallenge this Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28)! Help us support young mothers and teen girls in Mukuru with Dignity Packages:Sanitary padsSoap and lotionUnderwear and essentialsDrop donations at our office or send via Paybill: 400200 | Acc No: 857269
Through her online campaign, Amina calls upon the Ministry of Gender to be transparent in how sanitary pads are distributed through the free school distribution program to ensure that the girls receive the support they need during their menstrual cycles.
Change Leader Frida Karani from Embu County, a menstrual hygiene activist, through another online campaign, urges the Chairperson of the Women Representative Caucus to direct concerned authorities to use the allocated budget to establish accessible pad banks across all 47 counties of Kenya.
How local governments can help address the issue of menstrual health
Frida, who was part of the team behind the report, reiterates the need to strengthen partnerships, promote collaboration, and encourage knowledge sharing on best practices, innovations, and evidence-based solutions to achieve menstrual equity.
Another change leader, Harriet Afandi from Vihiga County, drawing on her personal experience with period poverty, is leading a campaign to prioritise menstrual equity across Kenya’s 47 counties. She is urging local governments to integrate menstrual health into budgets, policies, and public service delivery.
Another influential voice is that of Change Leader Veronica Judith Mwende, a public health advocate from Makueni who uses Menstrual Hygiene Day to highlight a closely linked issue.
What does a healthy beginning mean for Kenyan girls? It’s dignity, access, or simply, a sanitary pad.This #WorldHealthDay, we’re proud to launch a groundbreaking report capturing perspectives of 9,480 women & girls from 45 of Kenya’s 47 counties on the quality of sanitary pads!
Through her campaign, she is calling for policies that require technical institutions to admit and support teen mothers, many of whom are excluded from the education system due to stigma and a lack of care.
Referring to the Nguvu survey report, she points out that many respondents reported facing or being at risk of sexual harassment, exploitation, or abuse due to limited access to menstrual products.
“It’s time to act and build a more inclusive society where teenage parenthood, period poverty, and gender disparities no longer deny women their right to live safely with their dignity intact,” she concludes.
