A U.S.-backed charity has begun distributing no-cost menstrual kits to Kenyan girls in an effort to address school absenteeism among low-income families, the New York Times reports. The kit program was developed by Huru International in partnership with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Sunflag Steel, Warner Brothers and other groups. The kits include washable, reusable sanitary pads; underwear; soap; and information about safer sex and HIV prevention.

According to a recent study in rural Ghana by Oxford University, many girls from low-income families will miss up to five days of school each month while they menstruate. Many such families are unable to afford disposable sanitary pads. Girls can be embarrassed to use substitutes like cloth, mattress padding or newspapers, which can leak and raise the risk of infection. In addition, girls often begin to receive pressure for sex from men, including their male teachers, when it becomes clear that they are ovulating, the study found (McNeil, New York Times, 2/16).

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