Period poverty remains one of the most overlooked forms of gender inequality, yet it affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. This article explores how collaborative platforms — structured networks that bring together governments, civil society, local communities, and the private sector — can offer effective, multidimensional responses to this challenge. Through the analysis of two Indian initiatives, the Pinkishe Foundation and Menstrual Health Action for impact (MHAi), it demonstrates how collective action can simultaneously address the root causes of period poverty: from lack of menstrual products and inadequate sanitation infrastructure, to social stigma and insufficient health education.
| This article is part of a series and has been written by the Master’s students in Global Politics and Society at the University of Milan. As attending students of “The Welfare States and Innovation” course, they explored the connection between Social Innovation and new forms of Welfare in contemporary societies. The articles highlights the development of new synergistic partnerships among actors involved in multi-stakeholder networks and innovative multi-level governance models for social policies. |
What is Period Poverty, and why is it important?
Period poverty, described as the lack of access to safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate menstrual products as well as comprehensive knowledge to manage menstrual health, affects millions worldwide. Period poverty can potentially affect anyone with a uterus. According to UNICEF, 500 million people lack access to safe Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH). In recent decades, the issue has gained traction among public and private actors. In the Global North, period poverty is mainly caused by high taxes on menstrual products. In the Global South, menstruators1 lack access to period products and necessary infrastructure, inter alia toilets and water. Overall, menstruating people living in rural areas are particularly at risk of being affected. Moreover, period poverty is exacerbated by a lack of access to MHH products, infrastructure, knowledge, and stigma reduction
While period poverty is a global issue, India’s case is notable because both the government and private actors have tried to address it. This ties into the idea of collaborative platforms, structured frameworks to promote collaborative governance. Particularly in rural India, access to period products and sanitation is limited, leading to poor health and school absenteeism among young girls. Moreover, in many societies, menstruation carries a stigma, leading to a lack of knowledge about MHH management.
This article explores collaborative platforms as an innovative way to tackle period poverty because the diversity of the involved actors means that all dimensions (social stigma, access to period products, access to sanitation, and education) of the issue can be addressed while including local communities.
How do different actors start to recognise Period Poverty as an issue of inequality?
In India, period poverty affects a significant number of menstruating people. Around 300,000,000 women have no access to menstrual hygiene products, 45% of women are too shy to buy period products or to talk about their menstrual health (Pinkishe Foundation 2024). The issue has also been recognised by the state. Various programmes are in place to promote MHH, including the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) and the National Guidelines on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). In addition, several ministries are operating at the local level in schools to improve MHH knowledge and management (Babbar 2024; WaterAid 2018, Ministry of Women and Child Development 2025). Thus, the state acts as promoter and facilitator of MHH initiatives. Civil society actors such as the two NGOs Pinkishe Foundation and Menstrual Health Action for impact are developing initiatives and fostering collaboration to improve MHH in India and beyond.
How can collaborative platforms address Period Poverty?
Pinkishe Foundation
First, Pinkishe Foundation was started in 2017 and operates across India. The organisation combines several approaches to combat period poverty, especially in rural areas. These include a volunteer network, organisation of workshops, research on MHH-Management, promotion of sustainable menstrual products, and corporate social responsibility. Currently, more than 2,000,000 women are part of the organisation. Pinkishe Foundation collaborates with a variety of actors, including government bodies, civil society, the private sector, local communities, and enterprises.
The organisation runs several programs, such as the PadBank, the Sakhi Program, PinkTalk, the Pratham Program, Skill Development with Praveena, and Punyakalash. The PadBank aims to ensure access to free sanitary products, community outreach, and workshops through its volunteer network. The Sakhi Program trains women and schoolteachers as Menstrual Health Educators. PinkTalk offers virtual talks to raise awareness and educate on menstruation. The Pratham Program is aimed at girls who experience their first period and aims to reduce taboos. However, the organisation also has programmes with the goal of strengthening women’s economic position, such as Skill Development with Praveena, which teaches women sewing and tailoring skills for financial independence, and Punyakalash, which provides local communities with food, clothing, and support of environmental initiatives.
Pinkishe Foundation has conducted 3,215 Period Workshops, distributed 4,244,554 sanitary pads, and supported 489,139 menstruating people, mainly in rural areas. The organisation’s efforts reach significantly fewer men and boys at 11,174 than girls and women. Moreover, the initiatives reach mainly students and rural women. Promotion of sustainable menstrual products also occurs through promotion of different products, with disposable pads at 4,097,456, reusable pads at 133,874, and menstrual cups at 0.
Menstrual Health Action for impact
The Menstrual Health Action for impact (MHAi) initiative was launched in 2017 as a unifying platform designed to improve MHH. Initially focusing on India, the initiative has later expanded to other countries. The current goal is to improve the menstrual health and agency of girls and women in low- and middle-income countries by providing consulting and research insights, fostering collaboration, and engaging with policymakers. Expanding the platform beyond India resulted in a name change from Menstrual Health Alliance India to Menstrual Health Action for impact.
MHAi estimates that its collaborative work improves the lives of 1.72 billion people. To facilitate this, the platform offers open access to relevant research, a database of knowledge on MHH-engaging social enterprises, and opportunities for collaborative work. MHAi has therefore launched MHH Connect, a digital library where network members can easily share information, collaborate, connect with other stakeholders, and provide feedback to help improve the platform. MHH Connect provides more than 300 online resources based on evidence-based research. By co-hosting a national menstrual health conclave in 2023, MHAi engages significantly with Indian policymakers in order to change the narrative around menstrual health. This is important to improve the individual well-being of girls and women and to achieve structural change by addressing the widespread stigma associated with menstruation.
Over time, the nature of the platform has changed: while from 2017 to 2022 the focus was on informing the public and state-level policymakers about the qualitative aspects of menstrual health and infrastructure, in 2023, MHAi evolved into a think tank focused more on evidence-based research. This reflects the important role of knowledge and the platform’s spatial expansion.
What can we learn?
India’s collaborative platforms play a crucial role in providing knowledge about MHH to public and private actors and in including local communities in the problem-solving. Digital platforms like MHH Connect facilitate collective action by centralising knowledge and making it freely accessible. Networks like the Pinkishe Foundation and MHAi facilitate mutual learning and accelerate knowledge generation. Resources can be better coordinated and deployed for the same purpose. Collective action vis-à-vis political actors empowers people and can enhance their say. Additionally, Pinkishe Foundation’s initiatives strengthen women’s financial independence, increasing their access to period products and securing their socio-economic position. Addressing several layers of period poverty is necessary to combat the issue in the long term.
This approach also matters for countries in the Global North. While issues of period poverty may not lead to serious health issues, financial access gaps still need to be addressed, for example, through collaborative platforms. The aim is to bring about structural changes, such as reducing or eliminating VAT on menstrual products, and tackling the stigma that can be associated with menstruation.
References
- Babbar, K. (2024). Championing Change: How Political Action Can Transform Menstrual Health in India.
- Menstrual Health Action for impact (2025). Home.
- Menstrual Health Action for impact (2026). MHH Connect India.
- Ministry of Women and Child Development (2025). Government takes appropriate measures to improve menstrual hygiene practices.
- Pinkishe Foundation (2024). What We Do.
- Pinkishe Foundation (2025). 7 Years of serving India’s Mission to end Period Poverty. Annual report 2024.
- Unicef (2019). Guidance on Menstrual Health and Hygiene.
- WaterAid (2018). Menstrual hygiene management in schools in South Asia. Country Snapshot. India.
Note
- Menstruators refers to people who menstruate or have the capacity to menstruate, regardless of their gender identity.