Challenges to Menstrual Hygiene Maintenance (MHM) among the Adolescent Girls and Women in India related to COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: A Review

Covid 19 Pandemic has so much of devastating impact on our society especially due to complete lockdown state in almost all parts of India. During this critical situation, one of the worst-hit sections of society is women who menstruate. National Family Health Survey 2015-2016 estimates that there are 336 million menstruating women in India. The ongoing lockdown to contain the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic is severely challenging womens’ and girls’ access to menstrual hygiene products and toilets for managing menstruation. The major challenges faced by women and adolescent girls in India related to maintenance of menstrual hygiene during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown are unavailability of sanitary pads, unavailability of sanitation facilities, anxiety and stress over how to manage menstruation, inadequate production and supply of menstrual hygiene products.