• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

    Are DIY menstrual pads an unsustainable trend?

    Menstrual health activists say the development sector is increasingly turning to DIY menstrual health products. But the solution is "like putting a BandAid on a much, much broader problem.”

    By Amy Fallon // 26 January 2023

    KAMPALA, Uganda — Do-it-yourself or DIY reusable menstrual pads are not new. The practice of women stitching together their own menstrual hygiene products dates back to the 70s when activists would create these products, Christina Bobel, a professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at the college of liberal arts at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said.

    “Punk feminists, for example, were promoting DIY everything, including gyno care, in the 90s and 00s,” she added in an email.

    Three decades later many in the menstrual health space — including Uganda-based social business AFRIpads, which was founded in 2010 and is now the leading social enterprise manufacturing reusable pads — say they are now seeing a trend in donors increasingly wanting to fund DIY pad projects. But it’s not necessarily helping things.

    This article is free to read - just register or sign in

    Access news, newsletters, events and more.

    Join usSign in

    Read more:

    ► Has menstrual activism lost sight of the bigger picture?

    ► Can faith leaders destigmatize menstrual health?

    ► Opinion: Stepping up to contain the Roe v. Wade shock wave in Africa

    • Economic Development
    • Global Health
    • Private Sector
    • Social/Inclusive Development
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Amy Fallon

      Amy Fallon@amyfallon

      Amy Fallon is an Australian freelance journalist currently based in Uganda. She has also reported from Australia, the U.K. and Asia, writing for a wide range of outlets on a variety of issues including breaking news, and international development, and human rights topics. Amy has also worked for News Deeply, NPR, The Guardian, AFP news agency, IPS, Citiscope, and others.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    Global HealthWe know how to treat anemia. So why is it still so common?

    We know how to treat anemia. So why is it still so common?

    Global HealthObesity is on the rise in Africa. Here’s what UNICEF is doing about it

    Obesity is on the rise in Africa. Here’s what UNICEF is doing about it

    Global healthCan a powdered egg a day keep malnutrition away? Uganda thinks so

    Can a powdered egg a day keep malnutrition away? Uganda thinks so

    Devex NewswireDevex Newswire: Rhino Bonds and mega-ports — the private sector steps up

    Devex Newswire: Rhino Bonds and mega-ports — the private sector steps up

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: How climate philanthropy can solve its innovation challenge
    • 2
      The legal case threatening to upend philanthropy's DEI efforts
    • 3
      Why most of the UK's aid budget rise cannot be spent on frontline aid
    • 4
      How is China's foreign aid changing?
    • 5
      2024 US foreign affairs funding bill a 'slow-motion gut punch'
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement