Pro has started implementingPride  ‘Menstrual Hygiene and Health Development Impact Bond in Ethiopia’ in March 2022 after signing a project agreement with CARE Ethiopia and CARE France with financial support from AFD and BNP Paribas.  The program intends to promote gender equality by encouraging the adoption of MHH practices and the changes of beliefs related to menstruation to empower girls and women and improve their place in society. This, among others, will be done through creating friendly and enabling environment where they can have appropriate access to WASH/sanitation facilities as well as other MHH related services.

The program is under implementation in Adama city and the surrounding peri-urban kebeles of the Oromia Region targeting students enrolled in 60 primary and secondary schools, workers of Adama Industrial Park, and Adama University.

 

The MHH program was officially launched on May 27, 2022, in the presence of all major stakeholders. 

 

Pro Pride has been implementing different activities to raise awareness and improve knowledge on MHH, create demand for sanitary products, and advocate for support for women and girls from institutions and communities through radio sensitization and health education provided by health extension workers and health facility professionals that provided training on MHH.

Under pillar one, a radio program named Abaaboohas been on air since mid-September 2022  to discuss different issues regarding MHH,  and has reached over a million listeners after releasing 24 programs over the course of two years. Other mechanisms such as orientations, training, street shows, sports, social media platforms, etc. are also being used to promote MHH in the intervention areas.Street shows organized by amateur artists in Adama city and in some of the target schools to bring awareness to MHH consisted of dramas, poets, and other activities, and were presented on 17 different occasions throughout this program. Through these shows, a total of 15,659 students (9,059 female and 6,600 male) students and other community members have been reached until the end of January 2024.

 Training on MHH has been given to health extension workers and health professionals working in health facilities. Similarly, training has also been given to school girls’ clubs and sanitation clubs to increase their engagement in the promotion of healthy MHH practices and support for adolescent girls and women. Through these training, 560 elementary and secondary school girls have benefitted after the training was cascaded down from the training given to 15 adama science and technology university students.Furthermore, religious fathers, Abba Gedas, and other influential people in the community have been made aware of the importance of supporting women and girls to adopt MHH practices.

As part of this program, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) were also established for women to be involved in the MHH economy by selling a range of sanitary materials.After giving proper training to members of these groups, the amount of savings mobilized and loans disbursed has been increasing with more and more people joining these initative.

 

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Under pillar two, agreements have been signed between Pro Pride and ‘Mella for Her’ for the supply of reusable sanitary pads to be distributed to students, factory workers, and other women in the community in the intervention areas on a subsidy basis. Since this initiative started, a total of 6,200 vouchers have been distributed and 6,042 of the vouchers have been redeemed through school and nearby shops, health centers, and clinic in  Adama industry park.

 

Under pillar three, an agreement has been signed with three different contractors and the construction and renovation of sanitary facilities in target schools is already underway. By the end of January, 2024 a total of 36 blocks of 116 toilet seats and water fountains with 18 taps have been constructed and handed over to Adama town education office and then to the respective school administrations.