Menstrual hygiene management to improve the attendance of primary school-aged girls in Central North, Burkina Faso

How to improve the conditions for girls to attend school, to reduce failure and drop-out rates of adolescent girls, while ensuring their dignity and protection? This was the consideration that motivated the Kom-Yilma project, implemented by Catholic Relief Services in Burkina Faso and financed by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, to undertake a behavior-change strategy for menstrual-hygiene management in 118 schools in Bam and Sanmatenga Provinces. Discussions and behavior-change communication activities, providing an appropriate space for girls and the active participation of women leaders have already demonstrated positive results for a subject generally considered taboo in the intervention zone.