This May marked AHF’s five-year anniversary of celebrating Menstrual Health Day(MH Day)and fighting to combat period poverty, reduce period stigma, and provide affordable menstrual products and clean facilities to the estimated 500 million people without them to prevent poor health outcomes, such as HIV/STIs. Today, let’s look back on the advocacy and accomplishments reached and how our teams make it happen.
On AHF’s first MH Day in 2021, more than 30 AHF country teams organized grassroots actions, together delivered over 230,000 free sanitary pads, and kicked off a campaign to deliver five million pads before the end of the year. Highlights included national television broadcasts, community marches, and free health screenings.
MH Day 2022 saw AHF teams distribute over 456,000 pads globally, nearly double the first year, and reach over 11,000 participants through activations such as fashion shows, group discussions with gynecologists, and theatrical performances. Teams also ramped up high-level advocacy efforts and educated parliamentarians, local government officials, teachers, community leaders, and young men and boys on the importance of supporting menstrual health year-round.
In 2023, 38 AHF country teams distributed over 675,000 pads, nearly triple the first year, and installed free pad dispensers in some country locations. That year, many AHF teams focused their engagement and educational efforts on reaching key communities, including migrant women, rural communities, women in correctional facilities, sex workers, and girls in school with events such as trainings on preventing human trafficking, campaigns for tax-free pads, and health lectures and workshops.
Last year in 2024, AHF started a new initiative to distribute tens of thousands of free period undergarments in addition to sanitary pads and 40 country teams held events providing additional unique resources such as HPV vaccines, menstrual bracelets (for tracking periods,) menstruation stations, and webinars that reached underserved communities including women in shelters, jails, psychiatric facilities, and homeless women.
Find out how AHF marked MH Day 2025 here and on this week’s Inside Scoop Global Impact!
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