(a) whether the Government has proposed to provide free sanitary napkins to school girls who are staying in Government hostels and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government proposes to provide free nursing training to the rural women members of Self Help Groups; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a) to (c) : Government of India has taken following steps to improve menstrual hygiene practices through various Ministries which are as follows:
(i) As per the information provided by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Menstrual Hygiene Scheme is being implemented since 2011. It provides funds to the States/UTs to support implementation of the programme for Adolescent Girls (aged 10-19 years) as per proposals received from them in their Annual Programme Implementation Plans under National Health Mission.
The scheme encompasses the following :
(a) Increasing awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene management,
(b) Improve access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins by adolescent girls residing primarily in rural areas,
(c) Ensuring safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environmentally friendly manner,
(d) Provision of funds to Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) to hold monthly meetings with adolescents to discuss issues related to menstrual hygiene.
(ii) Ministry of Human Resource development (MHRD) through the Department of School Education and Literacy, is implementing an integrated scheme for School Education namely Samagra Shiksha. Under Samgra Shiksha, State specific projects for varied interventions on menstrual health and hygiene are sanctioned by the Project Approval board as per the Annual Work Plans proposed by the State/UT concerned which include installation of sanitary pad vending machines and incinerators.
(iii) Department of Pharmaceutical, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers under the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janausadhi Pariyojna (PMBJP), provides Oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins named Suvidha. The sanitary napkin is available for Rs.2.50 per pad to Janaushadhi Kendras across India to ensure ‘Swachhta, Swasthya and Suvidha’.
Health being a State subject, involvement of NGOs or any private organization to support the activities, remains the decision of the State/UTs.
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