WASH challenges to girls’ menstrual hygiene management in Metro Manila, Masbate, and South Central Mindanao, Philippines
Abstract
This paper examines water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions that enable and hinder Philippine schoolgirls to hygienically manage their menstruation. We collected qualitative data from 13 schools in three regions of the Philippines. Schools in both urban (Metro Manila) and rural areas (Masbate and South Central Mindanao) were included to allow for comparison across settings. Unreliable access to water, lack of disposal mechanisms for menstrual materials, unclean facilities, and insufficient number of latrines were identified as the key barriers to effective menstrual management in Masbate and Metro Manila. In South Central Mindanao, there was greater oversight of WASH hardware at schools and hardware was in better condition, which created a more enabling environment for girls to manage menstruation. Creating an enabling WASH environment for girls to manage menstruation requires sustained support and system oversight, combined with knowledge and information.
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A toilet's presence at school, and use by large numbers of students, does not ensure equity in access.
“a toilet’s presence at school, and use by large numbers of students, does not ensure equity in access [46, 47].”
From Physical, social, and political inequities constraining girls’ menstrual management at schools in informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. (2017) · cites this paper as [47]
Authors identified health impacts resulting from adherence to taboos such as dietary restrictions on the consumption of common foods, linked to fatigue, or withholding urination for fear of others observing menstrual blood in latrines.
“Authors identified health impacts resulting from adherence to taboos such as dietary restrictions on the consumption of common foods, linked to fatigue, or withholding urination for fear of others observing menstrual blood in latrines [16, 41, 56, 57].”
From Women’s and girls’ experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2019) · cites this paper as [56]
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- Authors
- Anna Ellis, A. E., Jacquelyn Haver, J. H., Jon Villasenor, J. V., Amado Parawan, A. P., Mohini Venkatesh, M. V., Matthew C. Freeman, M. C. F., & Bethany A. Caruso, B. A. C.
- Venue
- Waterlines
- Publisher
- Practical Action Publishing
- Published
- 2016-07-01
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 306-323
- ISSN
- 0262-8104 (ISSN-L)
- 1756-3488
- OpenAlex
- W2495145169
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 4.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Waterlines (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Menstrual Health and Disorders
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Studies and Social Issues
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Keywords
- menstrual hygiene management, female students, water, sanitation and hygiene, latrines, school sanitation facilities, urban-rural comparison, Metro Manila, Masbate
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