Let’s Talk About Period Poverty, World Leaders Decide

Later this year, Brisbane, Australia, will host the very first forum on period poverty where the world’s leaders will come together to determine the next step that needs to be taken to tackle the issue that affects millions of people around the world.

“Period poverty is something that we can completely eradicate if we unite and bring everybody on the journey; governments, brands, corporates and philanthropy,” says Rochelle Courtnay, founder and managing director of Share the Dignity, the organization behind the Global Period Poverty Forum.

This groundbreaking event is meant to shorten the eradication timeline of period poverty, a situation that encompasses a lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, waste management, and education to manage menstruation in an appropriate manner. More than 500 million women are affected by this situation, mainly in low-income communities, conflict-affected areas, and natural-disaster-affected regions. The world leaders will have to decide on the next step to take which could take the form of a large body of research, global advocacy on removing the stigma, or the ending of the sanitary tax in their respective countries. The 2024 edition of the Global Period Poverty Forum will take place in Singapore.