The Symposium for Menstrual Health and Hygiene in West and Central Africa

The document is a report on the Symposium for Menstrual Health and Hygiene in West and Central Africa, highlighting the challenges and lack of access to menstrual health information and infrastructure in the region. It emphasizes the importance of menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) for women’s rights and equality, and details the collaborative efforts of UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNESCO to address these issues through a regional symposium. The symposium aimed to foster systematic collaboration, share knowledge, and design multi-sectoral interventions for MHH. Over 1,000 participants from 91 countries engaged in discussions on global MHH issues, funding, programmatic approaches, and research. The report outlines the symposium’s objectives, program structure, and key points from various sessions, including the need for multi-sectoral collaboration and the integration of MHH into health, education, and public policy sectors. It also discusses the challenges of ensuring menstrual health in humanitarian settings and the exclusion of women and girls from MHH discussions. The document concludes with a call for continued advocacy and action to improve MHH across West and Central Africa.