Every year on 28 May, Menstrual Hygiene Day shines a spotlight on a critical but often overlooked issue: access to safe, dignified menstrual care. It’s a day to raise awareness, challenge taboos, and call for real action to ensure that no one is held back by their period.
Why Menstrual Hygiene Day Matters
Menstrual health is not a luxury. Access to sanitary products, clean and safe spaces, and the ability to manage menstruation without shame or stigma is essential for anyone who menstruates. But for millions around the world, this is far from reality.
Girls miss school. Women lose out on work. Stigma, silence, and misinformation continue to cause harm – especially in underserved communities where education and resources are limited.
This year’s theme, Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld envisions a world where everyone has access to period products, menstrual health education, and supportive infrastructure—free from stigma, exclusion, or shame.
Taking Action in Eswatini: Our Work with SKRUM
In Eswatini, cultural taboos and limited sexual health education have long prevented young girls from receiving the care and support they need during their periods. Many are forced to miss school due to a lack of menstrual products, while others face ridicule or isolation during their cycles.
That’s why we’re proud to support our partner SKRUM, who are tackling period poverty and menstrual stigma head-on through their new initiative, Umbhoco weNgabisa. At the most recent session, 24 girls not only gained practical knowledge – they gained dignity, confidence, and the ability to manage their periods safely. They left empowered, not ashamed.
These sessions, run by local female leaders Bongiwe Dlamini, Emelda Massadaborda, and Vuyisile Vilakati—collectively known as Team Serious—combine the life-changing values of rugby with essential menstrual health education. Girls learn how to use, clean, and care for reusable sanitary pads, and each leaves with a kit of their own.
This Menstrual Hygiene Day, help us create a world where no one is held back by their period.
At The Atlas Foundation, we support grassroots projects around the world – like SKRUM in Eswatini – that provide menstrual products, health education, and safe spaces for girls to manage their periods with dignity.
46% of Atlas partners supply female hygiene products
Atlas strives for inclusion with a ratio of 53:47 – Boys:Girls enrolled across all Atlas Projects
Just as you’d lend a pad or tampon to someone in need, your support can go even further – reaching girls and women who face period poverty every day. You can help us deliver life-changing resources where they’re needed most.
Help Atlas to Continue Supporting Programmes like SKRUM
Together, we can break taboos, fight stigma, and build a truly #PeriodFriendlyWorld
