PHOTO: PRABIR DAS

Speakers at a roundtable at The Daily Star Centre yesterday. The event, titled “Building Climate-Resilient and Inclusive WASH Infrastructure: Creating Period-Friendly Schools, Health Care Facilities and Workplaces,” was jointly organised by Unicef, WaterAid, and The Daily Star.

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Ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Bangladesh frequently faces disasters that disrupt water and sanitation infrastructure, making menstrual hygiene management (MHM) increasingly challenging, said speakers at an event yesterday.

As a result, climate-smart water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems are urgently needed in the country, they added.

The remarks came during a roundtable titled “Building Climate-Resilient and Inclusive WASH Infrastructure: Creating Period-Friendly Schools, Health Care Facilities and Workplaces”, jointly organised by The Daily Star, Unicef, and WaterAid at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.

“Menstrual hygiene management is about dignity, health, education, gender equality, and resilience,” said Peter Maes, chief of Unicef’s WASH Section.

“Inadequate MHM affects girls’ school attendance, women’s ability to work, and health workers’ capacity to serve -- especially during climate-induced emergencies such as floods and cyclones,” he added.

Recalling the 2022 floods in Sylhet, Maes noted that women and girls faced severe shortages of sanitary products and a lack of privacy in shelters, highlighting the need for WASH systems that remain functional and inclusive during crises.

Unicef WASH specialist Md Shofiqul Alam delivered the keynote address at the programme.

He highlighted that 68 percent of Bangladeshi women and girls rely on old cloth for menstruation. “Cloth use isn’t inherently problematic if properly cleaned and dried. Many choose it because it’s accessible and free,” he explained.

Alam also pointed to the impact on the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, where female workers lose an average of six days a month due to vaginal infections caused by unsanitary menstrual materials. “Many wear the same pad all day, harming their reproductive health,” he added.

He further noted that 90 percent of adolescent girls in Dhaka slums reuse unclean rags, leading to skin infections, urinary problems, and pregnancy complications.

Partha Hafez Shaikh, director of programme and policy advocacy at WaterAid, called for inclusive and climate-resilient menstrual hygiene solutions, particularly addressing water scarcity in South Bengal and coastal areas.

Fayazuddin Ahmed, policy and advocacy lead at WaterAid, said, “Menstrual hygiene services must be accessible to all, including people with disabilities.”

Mushfiqua Zaman Satiar of the Netherlands Embassy highlighted the need for true inclusivity, encompassing all genders and communities.

She urged full implementation of the National MHM Strategy and greater societal efforts to break longstanding taboos.

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