Lok Sabha Question No. 88 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Hygienic Menstrual Health Practices
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Prataprao  Jadhav, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 88 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 TH DECEMBER, 2023

## HYGIENIC MENSTRUALHEALTH PRACTICES

## *88. SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV: SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to formulate a national menstrual hygiene policy;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, along with its salient features, aims and objectives;
- (c) whether the Government has held nation-wide consultations with various stakeholders along with inperson inputs to formulate the said policy and if so, the details thereof and the response of the stakeholders in this regard;
- (d) the funds allocated and disbursed under the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) across the country, including West Bengal;
- (e) the number of adolescent girls in rural and urban areas who have benefited from MHS;
- (f) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to create awareness about safe and hygienic menstrual health practices, particularly among young girls in rural areas, along with the number of workshops conducted for adolescent girls in schools across the country; and
- (g) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor ?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

- (a) to ( g) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 88 FOR 8 TH DECEMBER, 2023

(a) & (b) The draft Menstrual Hygiene Policy (MHP) ensures comprehensive support through the entire menstrual journey, recognizing the unique needs of individuals from menarche to menopause with specific focus on prioritizing underserved and vulnerable populations, ensuring equitable access to menstrual hygiene resources and addressing their specific needs. The policy will also serve as a catalyst to raise awareness, challenge societal norms and foster a society that embraces menstrual hygiene as a natural and normal part of life. The aim of the draft MHP is to promote the health, well-being and empowerment of individuals who menstruate. The objectives of draft policy are:

-  To ensure that women, girls and persons who menstruate have access to safe, hygienic and quality menstrual products and sanitation facilities.
-  To provide a coordination mechanism among different Central Government Ministries, States/ UTs and relevant stakeholders and sectors.
-  To create an enabling environment for people including women, girls, men and boys so that they have access to correct information on menstruation, and to address myths, stigma and gender issues around menstruation.
-  To create a ' menstrual friendly environment ' in all settings including homes, schools/ educational institutions, workplaces and public spaces
-  To foster innovative practices with social entrepreneurs and the private sector
-  To strengthen environmentally sustainable menstrual waste disposal

(c) To draft a comprehensive Menstrual Hygiene Policy, a National level consultation meeting was organized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in July 2023. The Consultation had participation from various Ministries namely Education, Women & Child Development, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers along with officials from States, representatives from academia, research organizations, development partners as well as the private sector. The esteemed members gave valuable insights on work being undertaken in promoting menstrual health and hygiene not only within India but from other countries as well, which can be contextualized and adapted to the local context. The details of National consultative meeting is placed at Annexure ' A ' .

(d) State/UT wise Approvals and Expenditure towards Menstrual hygiene under NHM for F.Y. 2022-23 including the State of West Bengal is placed at Annexure ' B '

(e) The consolidated details of the beneficiaries including rural and urban areas is placed at Annexure ' C ' .

(f) and (g) Awareness generation among adolescent girls in schools about safe and hygienic menstrual health practices are done through the existing service delivery and health promotion mechanisms in schools. Further, 360 degree IEC/ BCC activities are carried out by the States/ UTs to create awareness among the adolescent girls and other stakeholders with the funds approved as per the proposals received in the Programme Implementation Plan (PIPs) of the respective State/ UT under National Health Mission.

In addition, vide a joint letter dated 08.03.2022 of Secretary, DoSEL and Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, the States have been advised to utilize funds earmarked for; 1) Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and Management of menstrual waste under Swachchh Bharat Mission (Gramin) Phase-II at village level. 2) For installation or maintenance of incinerators in schools having girls from classes VI to XII and 3) For creating awareness on MHM among adolescent girls and in the society in general.

## Note on the Policy Consultation Event

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organized a Consultative Meeting for developing a National Menstrual Hygiene Policy on the 12 th of July 2023. The event aimed to invite the various stakeholders to come together and deliberate on various aspects of menstrual hygiene for the first draft of National Menstrual Hygiene Policy.

The event was attended by 75 participants including officials from 6 Central Ministries, health officials from 9 State governments, NITI Aayog, Development Partners, NGOs,Academia, Professional association and private sector organizations (List attached)

The meeting started with an inaugural session where AS&MD (NHM) discussed various initiatives of MoHFW on menstrual health and hygiene and progress made by the country in the same. The Ministry of Education, Deptt of Pharma discussed their respective Ministry's initiatives on Menstrual health and hygiene.

OSD (HFW) gave a special address where he highlighted inclusion of innovation in various areas including manufacturing, IEC for ensuring safe and hygienic management of menstrual health.

Secy (HFW) gave the Keynote address and stressed on working towards creating a holistic and inclusive policy for all girls and women in the country which is a whole of government document involving all stakeholders.

This was followed by a second session where State representatives represented their menstrual health interventions, innovations and best practices followed by Development Partners, discussing international best practices.

| List of Participants -12 July2023   | List of Participants -12 July2023                              |
|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| S.N.                                | Organization/ Department                                       |
| 1                                   | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare                          |
| 2                                   | Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation                      |
| 3                                   | Ministry of Education                                          |
| 4                                   | Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers (Dept of Pharmaceuticals) |
| 5                                   | Maternal Health Division                                       |
| 6                                   | NITI Ayog                                                      |
| 7                                   | Karnataka                                                      |
| 8                                   | Telangana                                                      |
| 9                                   | West-Bengal                                                    |
| 10                                  | Gujarat                                                        |
| 11                                  | Assam                                                          |
| 12                                  | Odisha                                                         |
| 13                                  | Jharkhand                                                      |
| 14                                  | Tamil Nadu                                                     |
| 15                                  | Uttar Pradesh                                                  |
| 16                                  | ICMR                                                           |
| 17                                  | Safdarjung Hospital                                            |
| 18                                  | AIIMS                                                          |
| 19                                  | LHMC                                                           |
| 20                                  | FOGSI                                                          |
| 21                                  | WHO                                                            |
| 22                                  | USAID                                                          |
| 23                                  | UNICEF                                                         |
| 24                                  | UNFPA                                                          |
| 25                                  | JHPIEGO                                                        |
| 26                                  | Gates Foundation                                               |
| 27                                  | UNESCO                                                         |
| 28                                  | Vatsalya foundation: earthen incinerators                      |
| 29                                  | Goonj                                                          |
| 30                                  | Dasra                                                          |
| 31                                  | CINI                                                           |
| 32                                  | C3                                                             |
| 33                                  | WaterAid                                                       |
| 34                                  | CHETNA                                                         |
| 35                                  | Menstrual Health Action                                        |
| 36                                  | Sulabh International                                           |
| 37                                  | P&G                                                            |
| 38                                  | J&J                                                            |
| 39                                  | HLL Life care Ltd                                              |

Annexure ' B '

| Details of SPIP Approvals and expenditure under Menstrual Hygiene Scheme during FY2022-23   | Details of SPIP Approvals and expenditure under Menstrual Hygiene Scheme during FY2022-23   | Details of SPIP Approvals and expenditure under Menstrual Hygiene Scheme during FY2022-23   | Details of SPIP Approvals and expenditure under Menstrual Hygiene Scheme during FY2022-23   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No                                                                                      | State/ UT                                                                                   | SPIP Approvals                                                                              | (Rs. In lakhs) Expenditure                                                                  |
| 1                                                                                           | Andaman and Nicobar Islands                                                                 | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 2                                                                                           | Andhra Pradesh                                                                              | 2,009.08                                                                                    | 2,000.00                                                                                    |
| 3                                                                                           | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                           | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 4                                                                                           | Assam                                                                                       | 274.01                                                                                      | 5.84                                                                                        |
| 5                                                                                           | Bihar                                                                                       | 106.50                                                                                      | -                                                                                           |
| 6                                                                                           | Chandigarh                                                                                  | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 7                                                                                           | Chhattisgarh                                                                                | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 8                                                                                           | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu                                                          | 1.00                                                                                        | -                                                                                           |
| 9                                                                                           | Delhi                                                                                       | 348.27                                                                                      | 0.80                                                                                        |
| 10                                                                                          | Goa                                                                                         | 6.03                                                                                        | 4.13                                                                                        |
| 11                                                                                          | Gujarat                                                                                     | 50.00                                                                                       | 30.32                                                                                       |
| 12                                                                                          | Haryana                                                                                     | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 13                                                                                          | Himachal Pradesh                                                                            | 100.00                                                                                      | 0.67                                                                                        |
| 14                                                                                          | Jammu and Kashmir                                                                           | 463.71                                                                                      | 137.04                                                                                      |
| 15                                                                                          | Jharkhand                                                                                   | -                                                                                           | 0.85                                                                                        |
| 16                                                                                          | Karnataka                                                                                   | 20.16                                                                                       | -                                                                                           |
| 17                                                                                          | Kerala                                                                                      | 195.26                                                                                      | 38.86                                                                                       |
| 18                                                                                          | Ladakh                                                                                      | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 19                                                                                          | Lakshadweep                                                                                 | 8.63                                                                                        | -                                                                                           |
| 20                                                                                          | Madhya Pradesh                                                                              | 91.40                                                                                       | -                                                                                           |
| 21                                                                                          | Maharashtra                                                                                 | 2,092.03                                                                                    | 566.51                                                                                      |
| 22                                                                                          | Manipur                                                                                     | 116.78                                                                                      | 116.20                                                                                      |
| 23                                                                                          | Meghalaya                                                                                   | 2.00                                                                                        | 0.00                                                                                        |
| 24                                                                                          | Mizoram                                                                                     | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 25                                                                                          | Nagaland                                                                                    | 22.19                                                                                       | 104.25                                                                                      |
| 26                                                                                          | Odisha                                                                                      | 791.67                                                                                      | 453.58                                                                                      |
| 27                                                                                          | Puducherry                                                                                  | 36.00                                                                                       | -                                                                                           |
| 28                                                                                          | Punjab                                                                                      | 1,181.65                                                                                    | 45.28                                                                                       |
| 29                                                                                          | Rajasthan                                                                                   | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 30                                                                                          | Sikkim                                                                                      | 40.10                                                                                       | 0.78                                                                                        |
| 31                                                                                          | Tamil Nadu                                                                                  | 4,588.50                                                                                    | 0.02                                                                                        |
| 32                                                                                          | Telangana                                                                                   | 3,032.17                                                                                    | 4.00                                                                                        |
| 33                                                                                          | Tripura                                                                                     | 112.72                                                                                      | 71.85                                                                                       |
| 34                                                                                          | Uttar Pradesh                                                                               | -                                                                                           | -                                                                                           |
| 35                                                                                          | Uttarakhand                                                                                 | 147.65                                                                                      | -                                                                                           |
| 36                                                                                          | West Bengal                                                                                 | 3,892.51                                                                                    | 932.35                                                                                      |

Note: SPIP Approval and Expenditure is as per the available Financial Management Reports submitted by State/UTs and are provisional.

## Annexure ' C '

State/ UT wise total number of adolescent girls (10-19years) provided with Sanitary Napkins packs under the Menstrual Hygiene Schemes for FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 (Up to Oct ' 23)

|   Sr. No | State/ UT                       |   2022-23 |   FY2023-24 (Apr '23 to Oct '23) |
|----------|---------------------------------|-----------|----------------------------------|
|        1 | Andaman &Nicobar Islands        |       939 |                               13 |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh                  |  14791830 |                          5963209 |
|        3 | Arunachal Pradesh               |       296 |                             7273 |
|        4 | Assam                           |      2988 |                           514734 |
|        5 | Bihar                           |         0 |                             6316 |
|        6 | Chandigarh                      |         0 |                           100000 |
|        7 | Chhattisgarh                    |        37 |                            28224 |
|        8 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli& Daman &Diu |     34814 |                            32382 |
|        9 | Delhi                           |         0 |                              398 |
|       10 | Goa                             |         0 |                            11269 |
|       11 | Gujarat                         |   3114637 |                           132183 |
|       12 | Haryana                         |    744063 |                           259831 |
|       13 | Himachal Pradesh                |    641958 |                             3409 |
|       14 | Jammu and Kashmir               |   1205046 |                           173281 |
|       15 | Jharkhand                       |     97461 |                             7705 |
|       16 | Karnataka                       |    318802 |                             5613 |
|       17 | Kerala                          |     11880 |                            80166 |
|       18 | Ladakh                          |    190511 |                            65508 |
|       19 | Lakshadweep                     |         0 |                              579 |
|       20 | Madhya Pradesh                  |     85317 |                            68581 |
|       21 | Maharashtra                     |   1011173 |                           826187 |
|       22 | Manipur                         |     99746 |                            17136 |
|       23 | Meghalaya                       |         0 |                             1238 |
|       24 | Mizoram                         |      1344 |                             1361 |
|       25 | Nagaland                        |     10625 |                             9521 |
|       26 | Odisha                          |   3825598 |                           629169 |
|       27 | Puducherry                      |         0 |                              243 |
|       28 | Punjab                          |      6172 |                             1861 |
|       29 | Rajasthan                       |         0 |                           682201 |
|       30 | Sikkim                          |        49 |                              478 |
|       31 | Tamil Nadu                      |  23060268 |                          4586360 |
|       32 | Telangana                       |       283 |                             3920 |
|       33 | Tripura                         |    765354 |                            16315 |
|       34 | Uttarakhand                     |    248638 |                           159529 |
|       35 | Uttar Pradesh                   |    986548 |                           251618 |
|       36 | West Bengal                     |   2882102 |                          7259013 |

Source: HMIS

Data of girls provided sanitary napkins includes beneficiaries from both NHM and State funded schemes.

Note: The data is provisional for FY 2023-24 and has not been frozen as new HMIS formats were launched this year April 2023 onwards, the online data entry was initiated in June 2023 only. The data is for both NHM & State/UT funded Menstrual Hygiene Schemes.