Ending period poverty in emergencies: dignity and a brighter future for adolescent girls

For many adolescent girls, a normal school day can change in an instant. An unexpected period or a stain transforms an eager student’s focus into a single worry: finding a way to go home without being noticed. In crisis-affected communities, where families are already dealing with displacement, poverty, and disrupted access to basic services, managing menstruation can become another challenge that keeps girls away from the classroom.

While menstruation is a natural biological process, it remains surrounded by silence, stigma, misinformation and shame. The challenge is heightened when girls cannot afford sanitary products or do not have access to safe and private water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. UNICEF highlights that the lack of menstrual hygiene products can restrict girls’ participation in school and other activities, while emergencies can make these barriers even more acute. 

Across the crisis-affected North West and South West regions of Cameroon, UNICEF and partners are working to ensure that menstruation does not become another barrier to education. Through menstrual health education, dignity boxes and reusable sanitary pads, girls in schools and Temporary Learning Spaces are receiving practical support to manage their periods safely and with dignity.

When a period gets in the way of learning

For a girl already living through crisis, missing school because of sanitary supplies might seem secondary compared to broader security or environmental challenges. However, repeated absences can gradually affect her learning, self-confidence and participation in school.

The issue goes beyond product availability in many communities. Girls often lack accurate information about menstruation, feel ashamed to ask for help, or fear being teased by their peers. In schools without emergency menstrual hygiene materials, a girl who experiences an unexpected period may have little choice but to return home.

This is why menstrual health support is about more than providing a pad. It is about creating an environment where girls can learn without fear, understand their bodies and feel supported when they need help.

A solution made in the community