TORONTO, May 27, 2024 /CNW/ - Imagine experiencing your period without knowledge of the menstrual cycle, or missing school because you cannot afford sanitary supplies. Imagine fleeing conflict or a climate crisis without the resources to manage your period with dignity, because periods do not stop during humanitarian emergencies. This is the reality of millions of girls around the world.

This Menstrual Health Day, May 28, child rights and girls' equality organization Plan International Canada invites media to include this underreported topic in their news coverage for the day.

Available for interviews and expert insights:

Janani Vijayaraghavan, Health Advisor, Plan International Canada, can speak to:

• How period poverty and stigma intersect with every major challenge that girls around the world face today, including access to health care, education and protection from violence.
• The impact that access – or lack thereof – to menstrual health resources has on girls' lives everywhere and their opportunity to fulfill their goals and potential.
• Plan International's programs and work to end period stigma and make menstrual health resources available to girls and young women.

Youth activists and testimonials, to offer:

• Insights into work being done in communities around the world to end period poverty and stigma, as seen from youth leading this movement.
• Real-life examples from around the world of girls' and women's experiences with periods, highlighting how barriers have evolved between generations.

Plan International is a champion for children's rights and equality for girls, operating in more than 80 countries worldwide. With input from experts, community leaders and girls themselves, Plan's programs are designed to address the root causes of gender inequality in five priority areas: education, health, protection from violence, youth leadership and economic empowerment, and humanitarian response and resilience.

Plan International is currently on a mission to improve the lives of 200 million girls by 2027. To support this work, Plan Canada's fundraising campaign, Until We Are All Equal, aims to raise $2 million before June 30, 2024. All donations to this campaign will be matched until this deadline. Details can be found at: PlanCanada.ca/Equal

Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children's rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships with and for children for over 85 years and is now active in more than 80 countries.

We stand with children, especially girls, wherever they are oppressed, exploited, left behind or not equally valued. We're determined optimists, and we will continue to persevere until we are all equal.    

Visit PlanCanada.ca for more information. 

Plan International Canada 
PR & Communications 
PRteam@plancanada.ca

SOURCE Plan International Canada