Initiative will distribute free sanitary pads to 24 mi people

More than 31 thousand licensed drugstores across Brazil have begun distributing sanitary pads to socially vulnerable people. The initiative should serve 24 million people.

The offer is directed at those living below the poverty line who are public school students, homeless, or facing extreme vulnerability. People serving jail time are also covered.

Brazilian or foreign women aged 10–49 living in the country must be registered with Brazil’s national unified welfare network CadÚnico and have a monthly household income of up to BRL 218 per person to receive the pads.

Fighting inequalities

In a statement, the Ministry of Health noted that the efforts contribute to combating the inequalities caused by menstrual poverty, adding that the program represents “a major step forward in guaranteeing access to menstrual dignity.”

“Menstruation is a natural process that occurs throughout the world in at least half of the population. Even so, UN data show that menstrual poverty, coupled with the taboos that still surround this condition, can increase school dropout and unemployment rates,” the text reads.

“In Brazil, one in four girls is absent from school during her menstrual period, and approximately four million suffer from deprivation of hygiene in the school environment,” the note concludes saying.