As part of Always Brand´s End Period Poverty 2023 campaign, Always took to the streets in the capitals of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Panama during the month of April to talk about period poverty. 

Despite some progress for women’s rights around the world, we continue to face problems that affect the social, economic and health environment for girls, adolescents and women, especially those living in marginalized or low-income areas.

One such problem is period poverty, a term that refers both to the lack of access to sanitary products and hygiene education during the period, as well as the lack of toilets, hand-washing facilities, and dignified waste management.

According to UNICEF, 95% of adolescent girls feel uncomfortable attending school during their period, and 1 in 10 girls in Central America skip school due to a lack of sanitary pads or bathrooms in schools. 

In Jamaica, 44% of girls are affected by period poverty and have to go months without adequate supplies, according to information from the HerFlow Foundation, Always® partner for the campaign in this country. 

Lack of supplies is not the only obstacle facing this at-risk population, taboos and misinformation also cause insecurity among them; 35% of girls and adolescents worldwide still treat menstruation as a “private matter” that should be kept secret, according to the non-governmental organization Plan International.

Always® reinforces its commitment to help reduce period poverty and make the topic visible. Having toured Kingston with the Menstru-Mobile, a van that was installed in strategic points of high pedestrian traffic to open a conversation among the public about menstruation and promote access to hygiene products for girls and teenagers in the region.

With the help of activists Shelly-Ann Weeks (HerFlow),  Marcelle Jackson and healthcare experts Dr Jody-Ann Jarret (gynaecologist) and Monique Allen (nutritionist), the activity took place during the month of April, where passersby were tested on menstruation through trivia and interviews, and received information about these problems in Central America and the Caribbean.

The Menstru-Mobile was the starting point of the campaign End Period Poverty 2023, an initiative that will be active until June 30 of this year.  For each pack of Always purchased in establishments allied to the campaign, the brand donates a sanitary pad through non-governmental organizations. 

In the 2021-2022 period alone, the initiative donated 200 thousand in Jamaica thanks to the support of consumers in the local market.

By 2023, the campaign aims to donate approximately 411,000 sanitary pads to girls and adolescents who do not have access to menstrual products in the three countries. The donations collected will be delivered to communities affected by the lack of these supplies thanks to non-governmental organizations such as Her Flow Foundation in Jamaica. 

“At Always® we want to promote the conversation about period poverty, and together with our allies raise awareness and fight against the difficulties that prevent girls from having dignified periods. Together we can take action to end this problem that affects from the schooling of our girls and young women to the development of their self-esteem,” explains Paula Villaseñor, P&G’s Director of Corporate Communications for Central America and the Caribbean.