Harerimana, Alexis, Mchunu, Gugu, and Pillay, Julian David (2025) Menstrual hygiene management among girls and women refugees in Africa: a scoping review. Conflict and Health, 19. 20.

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Abstract

Background: Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) presents a significant public health challenge for refugee women and girls in Africa. Displaced populations often lack access to menstrual products, adequate Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, as well as comprehensive menstrual health education.

Aim: This scoping review aimed to understand the state of MHM, identify key challenges, and evaluate existing interventions among refugee women and girls in Africa.

Methods: Employing Levac et al.’s framework, the review analysed evidence from databases like CINAHL, Emcare, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, focusing on studies published between 2014 and 2024. Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria, and both numerical summaries and descriptive analyses were conducted.

Results: Refugee women and girls often lack access to both disposable and reusable menstrual products, resorting to unhygienic alternatives such as clothing, leaves, and paper. Inadequate WASH facilities restrict safe and private spaces for menstrual management. Cultural stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation contribute to social exclusion and school absenteeism among girls. The interventions included distributing dignity kits, enhancing WASH infrastructure, and providing menstrual health education; however, they were inconsistently implemented due to resource limitations and cultural obstacles.

Conclusion: This study highlights the urgent need for sustainable menstrual health solutions in refugee settings. Without access to necessary products, WASH facilities, and stigma-free education, women and girls risk exclusion, health issues, and interrupted education. Addressing these barriers requires consistent, well-resourced interventions that integrate cultural sensitivity to ensure dignity and long-term impact.

Item ID:	85024
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1752-1505
Keywords:	Menstrual Health; Menstrual Hygiene; Menstrual Products; Girls; Women; Refugees; Africa
Related URLs:	https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral....
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Date Deposited:	31 Mar 2025 22:32
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420602 Health equity @ 35% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420399 Health services and systems not elsewhere classified @ 30% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4204 Midwifery > 420499 Midwifery not elsewhere classified @ 35%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200505 Migrant health @ 50% 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280112 Expanding knowledge in the health sciences @ 20% 20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200204 Health inequalities @ 30%
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