PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Access and Barriers to Reproductive Health Services
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frph.2025.1686031
This article is part of the Research TopicAccessibility and Inclusivity in Sexual Health Education ContentView all articles
From Period Poverty to Policy Change: Advancing Menstrual Health as a Public Health Priority in Nigeria
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Owerri, Nigeria
- 2Youth In Research Hub, Enugu State, Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria
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Period poverty, the lack of access to menstrual products, adequate sanitation, and reliable health information, continues to undermine the health, dignity, and opportunities of millions of girls and women in Nigeria. Closely linked to gender inequality, the problem is compounded by stigma, inadequate infrastructure, and economic barriers, especially for low-income and marginalized groups. While civil society initiatives and isolated government gestures exist, Nigeria still lacks a comprehensive national menstrual health policy. In contrast, countries such as Scotland, Kenya, and Colombia have advanced reforms through product subsidies, menstrual education, and integrated WASH systems. Drawing on these global experiences and local efforts by Nigerian organizations, this commentary calls for a coordinated, government-led response that embeds menstrual health into public health, education, and social protection frameworks. Achieving menstrual equity will require sustained political commitment, structural investment, and culturally responsive policies.
Keywords: Menstrual health, period poverty, Gender Equality, public health policy, Nigeria
Received: 14 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Onukansi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Francisca Ogochukwu Onukansi, onukansifrancisca@gmail.com
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