Ethiopia reusable pad maker tackles period poverty

An Ethiopian company is producing reusable sanitary pads in Addis Ababa to address period poverty and taboos around menstruation.

Hanan Ahmed, 41, founded Han's Care in 2021 after experiencing period shaming when she was younger. She said girls in Ethiopia still miss school and women lose income because sanitary products are unaffordable or because menstruation remains a subject of shame.

Ethiopia imports all its sanitary pads, making disposable products expensive for poorer households. A 2017 Johns Hopkins University study found that only 28 percent of Ethiopian women reported having everything they needed for their periods.

Han's Care makes cotton sanitary pads that can be washed and reused for up to two years. The company says it can produce up to 1,000 pads a day. Instead of selling through pharmacies, it sells to sponsors such as banks, which then distribute the pads for free across the country.

At Nigat Kokeb School in Addis Ababa, about a dozen girls recently received pads. Teacher Tigist Shewangizaw welcomed the donations and awareness efforts, saying the aim was that no girl misses school.

Hanan said progress had been made in the capital but that conditions remained largely unchanged in rural areas. She hopes for more support from Ethiopian authorities and for more open discussion of menstruation.