Women in Coimbatore

Hygiene

Hygiene can refer to practices or habits that promote health. At WaSH-AID, our work supports healthy hand hygiene through the development of onsite waste treatment technologies that generate water that can be re-used safely for handwashing, and menstrual health and hygiene through the development of novel disposal options.

Menstrual Health and Hygiene

When a community lacks safe sanitation options, women and girls often further suffer the indignity of limited or no resources for the disposal and replacement of menstrual hygiene products. Toilets installed in low income communities or schools may lack discreet disposal options that, if available, could enhance the quality of life for women and girls. 

Considering menstrual hygiene options in the context of water and sanitation solutions is essential to the success of innovative technologies and products. We support the development of solutions that reject gender stereotypes that limit the health, education, and well-being of women and girls. We are also aware that menstruation can be a source of stress and induce dysphoria for people outside of the gender binary; not everyone who menstruates identifies as a woman or girl, and some who do identify as women and girls do not menstruate.

Past projects

  • ODY - A standalone disposal option for menstrual hygiene products
  • Field testing of ODY in India (with RTI International India and the Lotus Petal Foundation)