The UK Department for Education has made free sanitary products available in all public schools and colleges across England, in a landmark step toward combating period poverty. The initiative was first piloted in 2019 and is now fully funded for long-term implementation.
Teachers and social workers say the policy is reducing absenteeism among teenage girls and normalizing menstrual health discussions in classrooms. Each school receives a customizable monthly supply kit based on student demographics.
Health activists in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal see this as a replicable model. NGOs in Kolkata and Dhaka are already urging respective governments to integrate period products into school health programs.
