The WaterAid India in collaboration with CFAR, AAINA, NAWO and many other agencies along with various departments of Government of Odisha organised an event to mark the fifth ever “Global Menstrual Hygiene Day” on Monday here.
The discussions revolved round how to break the taboo and myths around menstruation and menstrual hygiene management, besides appropriate menstrual waste disposal.
While an interactive session was done involving 120 women and adolescent girls around Bhubaneswar slums working as frontline cadres, a round table was done involving 30 experts from various Government departments, civil societies and academicians. Setting the context of the round table, Manager – Policy, WaterAid India Arundati Muralidharan highlighted various menstrual absorbents and viable options for disposal of those absorbents.
Regional Manager of east region office, WaterAid India Bishakha Bhanja said that considering the launching of “Khushi” programme by the State for free distribution of sanitary napkin, it is essential to have a dialogue involving all the concerned stakeholders and civil society for promotion of bio-degradable menstrual absorbents as well as proper disposal mechanism.
Senior Scientist, State Pollution Control Board, Dr DK Behera shared various legal and environmental implications of improper menstrual waste disposal. The event was managed by programme coordinator, WaterAid India (East), Bhubaneswar Bikash Kumar Pati, AAINA senior manager Jyoshna Sahu and CFAR’s Pujafula Pattanayak.