Menstrual Hygiene Management incl COVID prevention SUMMARY 
The project will introduce Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in existing projects on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) that directly work with schools and youth. By developing good MHM practices at schools it is expected that female drop-out rates will decrease and the capacity of girls to claim their right to education and participate in social, political and economic life will increase. One of the main activities is to develop and promote modules for MHM activities for use in these projects that target adolescents through primary and secondary schools, but also through youth clubs, Village Savings and Loan (VSL) groups or other relevant social structures. The project started on 1 July 2019 as a pilot and is a component of the Wutomi SRHR project in Inhambane, Mozambique. After one year, scaling up is foreseen in other SRHR programmes in Mozambique. The project is implemented by Plan Mozambique. Many children in Mozambique do not complete education. Between 2007 and 2016, students who complete seven years of schooling annually represent only 45.6% on average. And only 30% of the students who enter first grade annually complete the 70th grade in seven years. There is also a persistent gender gap. Compared to boys less girls complete primary and secondary education and girls have higher drop-out rates particularly at the secondary level. One of the reasons why girls in Mozambique cannot fully realise their right to education is linked to menstruation. Often, facilities for girls (sanitary towels, separate WCs / latrines, water) are not available at school, and girls may rather prefer to stay at home. As a result many girls fall behind their peers and even drop-out from education completely. The problem is poorly recognized. 

Research about the relation between menstruation and school attendance specifically for Mozambique  is not available, but the WHO estimates that  1 in 10 school-age African girls ‘do not attend school during menstruation’ (Progress on sanitation and drinking-water – 2013 update. Geneva, WHO.) Similarly , statistics from the WB shows that girls are absent from school 4 days every 4 weeks on average. The proposed MHM intervention does not only addresses the practical needs of girls, but also addresses the underlying social norms about sexuality, reproductive health and gender norms. Providing opportunities for girls for menstrual hygiene like proper sanitation, safe spaces and education about MHM, will increase their school participation as they will have an enabling environment at school for this. The MHM project will focus on the following activities:
1.	Advise and train project staff (PIM and partners) about MHM inclusion
2.	Develop tailor-made interventions for MHM. May include minor rehabilitation of WASH facilities
3.	(Co-)implement tailor-made interventions for MHM (per project)
4.	Facilitating awareness raising activities in schools and communities
5.	Liaise with schools and enrich school curriculum with MHM issues, including education for girls and boys on how to produce low-cost hygienic sanitary pads from locally available materials
6.	Liaise with VSLA groups and introduce the production of low-cost hygienic sanitary pads from locally available materials for auto-consumption or as IGA.

In the first year the MHM project will link up with the Wutomi project in Inhambane, which is working in 8 schools already and planning to work with 7 VSLAs in 2019. This project provides a good breeding ground for the development of good MHM modules. Thereafter, experiences gained in Wutomi will be scaled up  to other projects in Inhambane (18+) and Nampula (Yes I Do and Health Women and Girls). 

The module will be adapted to the intervention context at hand in close collaboration with the soliciting development agency (Plan or Plan-partners). The contextualised MHM intervention will be accompanied with staff training and be monitored and implemented jointly with the development agent’s staff. 
There will be synergetic effects with government policies. The “Plano Estratégico da Educação 2012-2016” (not renewed yet),  aims to tackle gender disparities in education. Already, school budgets allow for spending on MHM, which hardly ever occurs. This MHM initiative will promote the use of existing budget lines in schools for MHM. Existing projects are strengthened and more coherence and synergy within the programme portfolio of Plan will be created. Income generating aspect of this project, when skills are learnt to produce cheap local pads,  will create sustainability and enable the trained groups to continue. Teachers are sensitized to include MHM information in their schools and are trained to provide safe spaces for girls and will lobby for appropriate sanitation ate schools.
This MHM initiative will promote the use of existing budget lines in schools for MHM.