Menstrual Hygiene Management in Latin America and Spain Webinar for World Water Day
Menstrual hygiene (MH) is not only a public health issue – it is a matter of dignity, equality, and human rights. Yet across Latin America and Europe, legislation remains uneven, fragmented, and often disconnected from water and sanitation policy frameworks.
To mark World Water Day 2026, we hosted a webinar on 18 March to launch our new publication Policies for Menstrual Hygiene Legislation in Latin America and Spain, developed in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). The session brought together experts and policymakers to explore how menstrual hygiene can, and must, be positioned within water governance, public policy, and gender equality agendas.
Opening the webinar, Anamaria Nuñez highlighted the significance of this year’s World Water Day theme, Where Water Flows, Equality Grows. She emphasized that access to water and sanitation services is essential to achieving equality and that MH must be treated as an integral component of water and sanitation systems, rather than a separate issue. Our joint publication aims to fill a critical knowledge gap across the region and support more coherent policymaking.
Natalia Gullón Múñoz-Repiso (AECID) illustrated the realities of gender inequality through the contrasting stories of two adolescents, Víctor and Mariela. While Víctor navigates puberty with confidence and support, Mariela faces anxiety, shame, and practical barriers, such as inadequate school facilities, leading to missed classes and increased risk of dropping out. Her example underscored how menstrual health challenges contribute to inequality, reduced self-esteem, and long-term disadvantages for girls. She stressed that addressing menstrual health requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond access to products and sanitation, to include education, awareness (particularly among men and boys), and strong legal and policy frameworks.
Amanda Loeffen, CEO of HR2W, presented the human rights-based approach to integrating water, sanitation, and menstrual hygiene into legal and policy frameworks. She outlined HR2W’s methodology behind the publication, which includes analyzing laws and policies across 30 countries through a human rights lens, complemented by case studies to assess how these frameworks work in practice.
The aim is to identify gaps, benchmark progress, and eventually develop guidance for policymakers.
Kay Windle, Legal Researcher of HR2W, shared key findings from the analysis. Across Latin America, countries meet on average around half of the relevant criteria, highlighting both progress and significant gaps. Colombia stands out as a leading example, particularly in areas such as non-discrimination and accountability.
The session concluded with a set of key recommendations found in the publication including: formally recognizing menstrual health as a human right, improving gender-sensitive water and sanitation infrastructure, ensuring access to affordable and sustainable products, strengthening data collection and monitoring, expanding inclusive policies, and promoting education to reduce stigma.
Case Studies
Colombia
Florencia Magdalena Méndez (IDB) highlighted the importance of integrating MH into water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and development projects. She explains that access is not just about having facilities, but about ensuring they are safe, private, dignified, and functional, with clean water and proper waste management. She highlighted that menstrual hygiene must be addressed systemically, combining infrastructure, education, accurate information, and stigma reduction. Millions of women and girls in the region still lack adequate conditions for menstrual hygiene, with disparities particularly severe in rural areas. She illustrated how projects can be successful and inclusive, using the Colombian example where they have established community-based production of reusable pads to improve access to menstrual products and created economic opportunities for women.
Mexico
David Pedrueza, (UNICEF, Mexico) presented UNICEF’s work on MH, emphasizing that in Mexico the focus has evolved from “menstrual hygiene” to a broader concept of menstrual health, which includes access to products, accurate information, adequate infrastructure, and supportive legal frameworks. National surveys conducted since 2022 have generated new evidence, revealing key gaps, such as limited access to information at menarche, insufficient facilities in schools and workplaces, and lack of availability of menstrual products. Generating evidence and strengthening policies are key to advancing menstrual health rights and ensuring dignified conditions for all. He highlighted important legislative progress, including reforms proposed in education law, widespread state-level action, free product distribution programs in some regions, the elimination of taxes on menstrual products, and the introduction of menstrual leave for students in Mexico City. UNICEF’s efforts concentrate also on education by developing training materials, courses, and awareness campaigns.
Brazil
Amael Notini, Chair of the HR2W Expert Committee, discussed Brazil as a case study, focusing on a 2021 law aimed at promoting menstrual dignity. He explained that, despite the importance of the issue, the law was difficult to pass due to a challenging political and social context, including resistance and misogyny. After its approval, key provisions were initially vetoed by then-president Jair Bolsonaro, but Congress later overturned these vetoes to ensure the law’s effectiveness. The law guarantees free distribution of menstrual products to vulnerable groups, including girls in public schools, incarcerated women, and others in extreme poverty. Amael highlighted that its implementation has also faced challenges. Brazil struggled with large-scale logistics, eventually using the “Farmácia Popular” network to distribute products. Another major barrier was digital access: initially, beneficiaries needed an internet app to qualify, which excluded many vulnerable people. This has since been improved by allowing access through local facilities.
The RHSC
Reina Jara introduced the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC) as the largest coalition focused on ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health supplies in low- and middle-income countries through collective action. She explains that their approach to menstrual health is comprehensive, defining it as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. This includes access to accurate information, affordable products, proper sanitation facilities, healthcare, and a stigma-free environment.
Reina outlined their three main areas of work: convening stakeholders to share knowledge and set priorities, driving collective advocacy and market development, and providing data tools for decision-making. A key focus is building sustainable markets for menstrual products, since reliance on donations alone is insufficient to meet global demand. She highlights ongoing efforts such as promoting international quality standards for menstrual products, integrating menstrual health into broader reproductive health services, and improving data availability through global reports and projections on supply and demand.
She notes that in Latin America the coalition adapts global tools to the regional context, supports knowledge-sharing through webinars and partnerships, and promotes the use of data for advocacy and policymaking. She concludes by stressing the importance of collaboration, data, and market-based solutions to ensure long-term, equitable access to menstrual health products and services.
Mercedes Castro, Former President of HR2W, closed the webinar by underscoring that menstrual health is not just about hygiene, but about dignity, opportunity, and breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. While awareness has grown, she emphasized that the priority now is to move from recognition to large-scale, sustained action. This requires shared responsibility across all stakeholders: governments must integrate menstrual health into policies, budgets, and service delivery; international organizations should continue to support funding, evidence, and technical cooperation; the private sector must innovate and invest in sustainable solutions; civil society should maintain its role in advocacy and community engagement; and academia must continue to generate data and measure impact. As she concluded, the evidence, tools, and experiences already exist but the real challenge now is to turn this knowledge into concrete action that creates lasting change.
Speakers
