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Reproductive Health
Published in: Reproductive Health 1/2021

Open Access 01-12-2021 | Commentary

The state of adolescent menstrual health in low- and middle-income countries and suggestions for future action and research

Authors: Marina Plesons, Archana Patkar, Jenelle Babb, Asanthi Balapitiya, Flo Carson, Bethany A. Caruso, Margarita Franco, Maja Manzenski Hansen, Jacquelyn Haver, Andisheh Jahangir, Caroline W. Kabiru, Ephraim Kisangala, Penelope Phillips-Howard, Aditi Sharma, Marni Sommer, Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli

Published in: Reproductive Health | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

In recognition of the opportunity created by the increasing attention to menstrual health at global, regional, and national levels, the World Health Organization’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research and the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction convened a global research collaborative meeting on menstrual health in adolescents in August 2018. Experts considered nine domains of menstrual health (awareness and understanding; stigma, norms, and socio-cultural practices; menstrual products; water and sanitation; disposal; empathy and support; clinical care; integration with other programmes; and financing) and answered the following five questions: (1) What is the current situation? (2) What are the factors contributing to this situation? (3) What should the status of this domain of adolescent menstrual health be in 10 years? (4) What actions are needed to achieve these goals? (5) What research is needed to achieve these goals? This commentary summarizes the consensus reached in relation to these questions during the expert consultation. In doing so, it describes the state of adolescent menstrual health in low- and middle-income countries and sets out suggestions for action and research that could contribute to meeting the holistic menstrual health needs of adolescent girls and others who menstruate worldwide.
Footnotes
1
Hereafter, this group of topics is referred to as ‘menstrual health.’.
 
2
WHO defines adolescents as those between the ages of 10 and 19 years.
 
3
Chhaupadi is a harmful practice in parts of Nepal in which girls, women, and others who menstruate are required to stay outside of the house—often in a cow shed or similar structure—when they are menstruating.
 
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Metadata
Title
The state of adolescent menstrual health in low- and middle-income countries and suggestions for future action and research
Authors
Marina Plesons
Archana Patkar
Jenelle Babb
Asanthi Balapitiya
Flo Carson
Bethany A. Caruso
Margarita Franco
Maja Manzenski Hansen
Jacquelyn Haver
Andisheh Jahangir
Caroline W. Kabiru
Ephraim Kisangala
Penelope Phillips-Howard
Aditi Sharma
Marni Sommer
Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Reproductive Health / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1742-4755
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01082-2

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