By K.R.Renuka | Director
Centre for Women's Development and Research-CWDR
Periods Don't stop for Covid -19 Pandemic, Help Girls
Project No: #46567
Update December 2020
When we started writing this report the TV news (16th December 2020)says Tamilnadu Government had allotted Rs.44 crores for the menstrual hygiene and free sanitary pads schemes for adolescent girls from urban area. When the Covid 19 lockdown was announced we initiated this project with the idea of carrying out an advocacy campaign Periods Don't stop for Covid -19 Pandemic. We have sent memorandums with adolescent girls signatures to extend and continue the free sanitary pads schemes in urban areas because it was stopped due to the Covid 19 lockdown of schools. We could also able to get the media attention for this campaign.
We already had distributed free sanitary pads for nearly 15,000 adolescent girls, most of the sanitary pads were mobilised through local donations. We have also received 1500 sanitary pads from Goonj an organization recycling old clothes and make reusable sanitary pads. The distribution is done through our 'Snehidhi' network for Adolescent Girl's SRHR-Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights. 24 NGOs are part of it. Actually we planned to reach out to only 1000 adolescent girls from our working area. This is one of the biggest achievement for us during the Covid 19 lockdown and when schools are closed down. As part of the advocacy campaign we have reached college students and professional young women requesting them to donate free sanitary pads, this also helped us to educate them about SRHR-Sexual Reproductive Health Rights of adolescent girls and young women. The new government order and the scheme will help 1.5 million adolescent girls in government schools in urban areas. We are very happy about this.
In addition to distribution of sanitary pads we have been educating adolescent girls about SRHR, health, nutrition and Covid 19 prevention. Nearly 1000 adolescent girls are benefitting from this activities. One of the important learnings during this period is the use of digital tools for meetings, fundraising, and advocacy activities. During November/December 'Nivar' and 'Bhuvari' back to back cyclones affected our working area, that again affected the sexual reproductive health of adolescent girls, but now the government had sanctioned and extended the menstrual hygiene and free pad schemes to urban areas of Tamilnadu, that would help the adolescent girls.
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