Improving a Difficult Period for Women in Africa

There are certain times of the month when being a woman is, quite literally, a pain. But for those of us with quick, easy access to Kotex, things could be a whole lot worse.

According to a NewsWise article, "[in Africa] the lack of affordable, quality sanitary pads results in females missing up to 50 days of school annually -- thereby compromising their educational and professional potential." Importing pads simply isn't an option: a month's supply of pads could easily cost African women a day's worth of wages.

Researchers at North Carolina State University are taking this issue seriously, and they're doing something about it. With the support of Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), they're designing effective, low-cost sanitary pads using locally available materials. The material of choice: bananas.

Researchers in the department of wood and paper science at NC State are working with banana stem fibers, a resource that's cheap and easy to find in Rwanda. To make the tough fibers usable for menstrual pads, they "put them through a series of chemical treatments and mechanical actions in order to change their composition from coarse, waxy fibers into soft, billowy materials that are more amenable to absorbing liquid." Undergrad students came up with the design for a pad cover.

Voila: a new and critically important product that's locally produced, cheap, effective and environmentally friendly. According to the article, "the pads will be sold by community health workers for 30 percent less than the available brand."

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng