Abstract
ABSTRACT There is increasing global attention to the importance of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) for the lives of those who menstruate and gender equality. Yet, the global development community, which focuses on issues ranging from gender to climate change to health, is overdue to draw attention to how addressing MHH may enable progress in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To address this gap, we undertook a collective exercise to hypothesize the linkages between MHH and the 17 SDGs, and to identify how MHH contributes to priority outcome measures within key sectoral areas of relevance to menstruating girls in low- and middle-income countries. These areas included Education, Gender, Health (Sexual and Reproductive Health; Psychosocial Wellbeing), and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). These efforts were undertaken from February – March 2019 by global monitoring experts, together with select representatives from research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and governments (n = 26 measures task force members). Through this paper we highlight the findings of our activities. First, we outline the existing or potential linkages between MHH and all of the SDGs. Second, we report the identified priority outcomes related to MHH for key sectors to monitor. By identifying the potential contribution of MHH towards achieving the SDGs and highlighting the ways in which MHH can be monitored within these goals, we aim to advance recognition of the fundamental role of MHH in the development efforts of countries around the world.
Highlights
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collective agenda that identifies how the global society can enable sustainable economic, social, and environmental development for all, with an emphasis in the preamble to the SDGs on the need ‘to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls [1]
In highlighting the relevance of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) across a broad set of global priorities, we suggest that MHH may align with the SDGs in the following ways: (1) MHH directly contributes to achieving a given SDG, but its role has not been recognized or directly evaluated; (2) MHH contributes to achieving a given SDG through clear indirect pathways, suggesting a value to prioritizing attention; (3) MHH is influenced by progress towards a given SDG, and may serve as a ‘proxy’ for genderequitable progress; and (4) potential but unclear rela tionship between SDG and MHH
An important limitation was the potential bias amongst the experts included in the monitoring measures meeting group and global advisory group; many were not engaged in MHH activities, they were selected based on their measurement expertise, role within global monitor ing, and willingness to explore the potential align ments between MHH and priority sectors
Summary
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collective agenda that identifies how the global society can enable sustainable economic, social, and environmental development for all, with an emphasis in the preamble to the SDGs on the need ‘to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls [1]. We posit that to fully achieve the SDGs by 2030, it is necessary to recognize MHH as a contributing factor to a broad set of SDGs. In this paper, we outline the potential linkages between MHH and all of the SDGs. to ensure MHH is ade quately considered, we highlight the range of out comes to which unmet menstrual needs are relevant, as well as specific outcomes prioritized within sectors closely aligned with MHH, with a main focus on girls in and out of school from low- and middle-income countries. The need for adequate disposal systems for menstrual material waste has important implications for the larger envir onment (SDG 15), and for rural and urban planners in regard to basic services, including gendered sanita tion (SDG 11) As another example, menstruation is linked to SDG 3.7 which aims to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services
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