What is menstrual hygiene day?
Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) is a global advocacy platform that brings together the voices and actions of non-profits, government agencies, individuals, the private sector and the media to promote good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) for all.
More specifically, the day aims to raise awareness and change negative social norms around menstruation and create a world in which everyone is empowered to manage menstruation safely, hygienically, with confidence and without shame.
When is it?
Menstrual Hygiene Day takes place every year on 28 May. The organisers chose this date because the average duration of a menstrual cycle is 28 days and, on average, women and girls menstruate for five days per month. Hence 28 5, or 28 May.
What is this year’s theme?
This year,MH Day recognises that periods do not stop for pandemics in light of the coronavirus crisis, using the hashtag #PeriodsInPandemics.
The theme aims to highlight how the current pandemic is further exacerbating the menstruation-related challenges many adults and teenagers face around the world.
Schools, community centres and other places where women and girls can typically access critical information about menstruation are closed in many countries, while routine health services have also been reduced, MH Day states.
