In her compelling op-ed, “Transforming Menstrual Health into Economic Power,” Fenny Louise Taylor, 2024-2025 Impact West Africa Fellow, highlights how period poverty in Liberia affects women’s health, education, and income—citing stories of girls like Kema and Bendu who miss school due to lack of access to affordable menstrual products.
She emphasizes that Liberia can do sanitary pad distribution by itself without any international aids. Drawing inspiration from successful women-led menstrual product businesses in Kenya and South Africa, Taylor proposes a local manufacturing ecosystem in Liberia that could create 7,000 jobs and cut pad prices by up to 50%. Her call to action includes removing import duties on manufacturing equipment, funding women entrepreneurs, and investing in skills training.
She urges stakeholders to recognize menstrual health not as a side issue, but as a national economic and dignity imperative.
“Let’s meet this moment with the urgency it deserves and the belief that Liberian women and girls deserve more than makeshift solutions. They deserve momentum. They deserve investment. And they deserve dignity.”
Read her full piece below.
