For millions of girls in Uganda, rising temperatures are reshaping the classroom. Jane Meza Mwanza, a Kenyan journalist, captures the reality starkly: “Imagine failing a class because you couldn’t afford to stop bleeding. That is the reality for many schoolgirls across the country. We talk about ‘empowering women,’ yet we allow a natural biological process to block education. If the government can provide free condoms but girls must buy pads, our priorities are backwards. One is a choice, the other a necessity.”
During the compilation of this story, the silence around menstruation was striking. Many girls initially agreed to be interviewed but later withdrew, particularly when speaking to male reporters—highlighting how fear, shame, and stigma continue to govern conversations about menstruation. Many girls miss school. Others rely on unsafe alternatives or endure humiliation.
Inadequate hygiene, compounded by environmental pressure, turns menstruation into a daily struggle. Experts warn that climate change is deepening gender inequality, leaving adolescent girls particularly vulnerable. Activists and health professionals argue that coordinated action—ensuring access to menstrual products, safe water, and hygiene education—is essential to protect both learning and dignity.
Menstruation is no longer a private issue. It is a barrier intensified by scorching temperatures and scarce sanitation, with every missed class a setback for the future of girls like 21-year-old Adiyo. Adiyo’s first period in Primary Five was a nightmare. Blood stained her uniform, classmates laughed, and she stayed home for a week, convinced she would never return. Like many girls across Uganda, she struggled with extreme heat, limited water, and inadequate sanitation—conditions that transformed menstruation from a routine biological process into a barrier to education.
Other adolescents interviewed report similar experiences. Seventeen-year-old Adoch says that on hot days she changes pads multiple times, but scarce water and overcrowded toilets make hygiene difficult. Agnes, 24, a young mother, notes that extreme heat and drought intensify these challenges, forcing girls to skip classes or withdraw from social activities. These experiences reflect a wider pattern: menstruation compounded by climate stress contributes to absenteeism, stigma, and lost opportunities.
Allan Mugisha Okello, a global health and human rights advocate, explains, “Period poverty is no longer just a health issue; it is a social and educational crisis.” Inadequate facilities and rising temperatures make menstrual hygiene management increasingly difficult, particularly for girls from vulnerable communities. Across Uganda, adolescent girls face silent struggles under heat and period poverty.
Each missed day quietly shapes their futures. In Uganda, a girl needs at least three sanitary pads per month, each costing between 3,000 and 6,000 shillings (approximately USD 0.80–1.60). Over a year, this amounts to between 108,000 and 216,000 shillings (USD 28–52)—a cost many families cannot consistently afford.
These daily struggles go beyond discomfort. They disrupt learning. Every missed school day represents a lost lesson, a deferred dream, and an opportunity denied.
From classrooms to dormitories, heat and inadequate facilities turn a natural process into a barrier that shapes long-term prospects. Adiyo’s experience mirrors a far larger, largely invisible national loss. Uganda’s education sector records for 2024 show that of the 4.57 million learners in secondary schools, about 2.54 million are girls, with roughly 2.19 million aged between 13 and 18. Advocates estimate that menstruation-related challenges cause many girls to miss up to 36 school days annually. Nationally, this translates into nearly 79 million lost school days each year—quietly undermining girls’ education and widening gender inequality.
Adiyo recalls the week she missed school in Primary Five, hiding at home out of shame after classmates mocked her bloodstained uniform. “I thought I would never return,” she says. Her experience is far from unique. Lucy Akoko, a retired head teacher in Pader District, says inadequate school support systems worsen absenteeism. “Girls without pads or private toilets often skip classes. Without guidance and sensitization, the problem worsens,” she explains, noting that even reusable pad initiatives and NGO support only partially address the gaps.
Akoko adds that when parents cannot afford menstrual products, girls from poor households become vulnerable to exploitation. In some cases, girls obtain pads from boys or men, increasing their risk of unintended pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted infections. Angel Babirye, Team Leader at US for Girls Uganda, highlights the compounded risks. “Many girls lack safe absorbent materials and sometimes resort to unsafe alternatives like soil, sand, or cow dung,” she explains, practices that increase the risk of infections, HIV, STIs, and teenage pregnancies.
Babirye notes that stigma discourages open discussion, fueling myths and misconceptions that undermine girls’ confidence and wellbeing. She calls for comprehensive solutions, including safe spaces for discussion, clean water and sanitation facilities, and proper disposal systems.
Research by Miiro found that nearly 50 percent of adolescent girls miss one to three school days each month due to menstruation. National data from the 2024 Auditor General and Ministry of Education indicate that over 64 percent of schoolgirls miss school during menstruation, yet only 22 percent have reliable access to sanitary products.
Although policy frameworks such as the Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Charter of 2015 recognize menstrual health as a right linked to education and dignity, implementation remains weak. Funding gaps, fragmented programs, and inadequate WASH facilities continue to undermine girls’ education. In 2016, the Ugandan government pledged to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls—a commitment reinforced by the Cabinet’s 2023 approval of the Policy on Compulsory Free Education, which includes capitation grants for schools.
The MHM Charter 2015 further enshrines menstrual health as a right, linking access to pads, WASH facilities, and education. In practice, implementation remains uneven. A 2024 Ministry of Education and Sports situational analysis found that only a fraction of schools receive menstrual products, while WASH infrastructure remains inadequate. Many girls rely on sporadic NGO interventions or improvisation.
Nancy Akello Ongom, a humanitarian and youth activist, argues that the responsibility lies with public systems. “When girls miss school because they lack sanitary pads, the failure is systemic—not individual. Free menstrual products must be institutionalized, not left to chance or charity.”Ongom adds that climate stress compounds these gaps. Rising temperatures and water scarcity intensify the risks of absenteeism, infections, and stigma, exposing the disconnect between policy commitments and school-level realities.
The World Health Organization emphasizes that “menstrual health must be recognized, framed, and addressed as a health and human rights issue, not merely a hygiene issue.” Access to menstrual products, clean water, sanitation, and accurate education is essential for dignity and equality.WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA warn that climate change—through heatwaves, droughts, and flooding—disrupts water and sanitation systems, directly affecting girls’ ability to manage menstruation safely.
Youth feminist and women’s health scholar Alana France highlights the broader risks. “Climate change exacerbates gender-based violence. Every 1°C rise in temperature correlates with a 4.7 percent increase in intimate partner violence globally.”She argues that engaging men and boys, promoting positive masculinity, and centering survivor experiences can reduce violence by up to 50 percent within two to three years in low- and middle-income countries.
Studies from Haiti, Mozambique, and Vanuatu reinforce these findings. Research by Dr. Hellen Kezie Nwoha and Prof. Sarah Ssali in Uganda similarly shows that national policies often fail to reach local communities, leaving women and girls disproportionately exposed to climate-related vulnerabilities.
Despite the challenges, solutions are available. NGOs such as Days for Girls Uganda and US for Girls distribute sanitary products, train girls to make reusable pads, and provide menstrual health education in schools and communities. Akoko recalls how her school supported girls through pad provision, reusable pad training, and safe spaces.
“Sensitization and practical support reduce absenteeism and build confidence,” she says. International experience shows that combining product access, education, and climate-resilient WASH facilities significantly reduces absenteeism and improves wellbeing. Locally, community-based reusable pad production also creates livelihoods for women, offering a sustainable model.
Ongom advocates for institutionalizing free pads in schools, upgrading WASH infrastructure, and integrating menstrual health into national climate and education strategies. The MHM Charter 2015 calls for teacher and parental engagement, safe disposal systems, and inclusive facilities. These interventions show that progress is possible. When schools provide free pads, clean water, private toilets, and menstrual health education, girls can learn safely and confidently.
As temperatures rise, the cost of inaction is no longer abstract. It is measured in missed school days, lost confidence, and futures quietly narrowed. Menstruation should never determine whether a girl learns or stays home—yet without sustained political will, heat will continue stealing classrooms from girls, one silent absence at a time.
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