Help break the cycle of period poverty

Periods shouldn’t cost a girl her future.

But for millions of girls, they do.

A period can mean a cycle of unsafe toilets, missed school, missed potential and shame - every single month.

Did you know that in Rwanda alone, 22% of girls have missed school because of their period?

Amadia, 17, is helping change that. Through ActionAid's girls rights' camps, girls learn to make reusable pads, giving them a safe, affordable way to stay in school.

With the right support, they can gain confidence, attend classes, and take the opportunities that come with education and independence.

Support women and girls who are demanding period justice around the world.

Donate £5 a month and help break the cycle of period poverty — every cycle.

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Help girls break the cycle of period poverty

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"What gives me confidence is feeling strong within myself"

Amadia is a secondary school student in southern Rwanda, and an aspiring poet and musician. At an ActionAid Rwanda summer camp, she joined girls building practical skills, confidence, and open conversations around periods, a topic often surrounded by silence and stigma.

She learned how to make reusable sanitary pads, giving her and others a safe, affordable, and sustainable way to manage their periods and stay in school.

Now she’s sharing that knowledge in her school, starting conversations and supporting others.

Your donation of £5 a month could help break the cycle of period poverty - every cycle.

I'm ready to donate

Amadia knows girls are less likely to miss school when they have practical solutions and peer support — from making reusable pads to having safe, open conversations about periods.

Christie Ntwari/ActionAid

How to break the cycle of period poverty

We work alongside women and girls to create practical, lasting solutions to period poverty and demand period justice.

Reusable pad workshops

Teaching girls to make and distribute sustainable menstrual products - reducing cost and waste long term.

Safe toilets & clean water

Installing private sanitary facilities in schools so girls can manage their periods with dignity and safety.

Girls' clubs & peer support

Creating safe spaces where girls build confidence, share knowledge and advocate for their own rights.

Challenging stigma

Working with teachers, parents and communities to shift harmful attitudes so girls can live free from shame.

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What is the difference between period poverty and period injustice?

Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products, safe facilities and accurate information. It means not being able to afford pads or period pants, missing school because there’s nowhere private to change, or using unsafe alternatives.

But period injustice is about the unequal systems and social norms that shame, silence and discriminate against women, girls and people who menstruate. It’s about laws, policies and attitudes that treat periods as taboo or as a luxury. It’s about girls being pulled out of sport, missing education, facing harassment, or being denied dignity because of a natural biological process.

Ending period poverty provides products.

Ending period injustice transforms systems and changes culture.

And that’s what we’re working towards.

We believe:

A period should never stop a girl going to school
No one should feel shame about their body
Period products should be affordable and sustainable
Sexual and reproductive rights should be respected everywhere

Period justice is about more than being unable to afford menstrual products. It’s about the systems that hold women and girls back, shrink their rights and compromise their safety.

Changing the world with women and girls

ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty.

Our dedicated staff are changing the world with women and girls. We're committed to ending the cycle of violence in communities around the world, enabling women's economic justice and supporting women's and girls' rights during humanitarian crises.

We operate in rural and urban communities across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Supporting women and girls to end period poverty around the world is just one aspect of ActionAid’s work.

Your donation may go towards this vital work, or it will be used where it is needed most to further ActionAid’s general charitable purposes.