Produced by the DFAT-funded Water for Women Fund, this learning brief makes the case for treating menstrual health and hygiene as central rather than peripheral to WASH programming. Around 800 million women, girls and gender non-binary people are menstruating on any given day, yet 2.3 billion people globally lack access to basic sanitation.

The brief explains why period poverty needs to end, the benefits of improved menstrual health and hygiene, the additional pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and lessons from Water for Women initiatives across Asia and the Pacific. It closes with a practical menstrual health and hygiene checklist for WASH practitioners.