According to UNICEF, one in ten schoolgirls in Africa miss classes or drop out completely due to their period, and substitute pads or tampons for less safe and less absorbent materials such as rags, newspaper or bark. There are many aspects that link girls' School attendance rates to their menstrual cycles.

In many poor communities, menstruation is still often seen as an embarrassing, shameful, and dirty process. Such taboos around the topic mean many adolescent girls are often unprepared for their periods and how to manage them. Less than half of girls in lower- and middle-income countries have access to basics such as sanitary towels or tampons, soap and water, or facilities to change, clean, or dispose of hygiene products.

Menstrual poverty means many African girls must drop out of school, with 60% of them not having access to menstrual hygiene products there or at home.

Disposable sanitary pads are expensive. A pack of sanitary pads can cost more than a whole day’s pay in Malawi.