5 Things To Know About Tamil Nadu Government's Menstrual Hygiene Scheme

Tamil Nadu government has decided to distribute free sanitary napkins under its Menstrual Hygiene Program by spending Rs 44. 15 crores. The napkins will be supplied in 'dignity kits' which will also have other items needed for menstrual care. This order was issued after the state's Chief Minister E Palaniswami announced the extension of Menstrual Hygiene Scheme in the state legislative assembly. The officials told TNIE, “The napkins will be directly delivered to government schools and an acknowledgement obtained by urban health nurse.”

Here's what you should know about the scheme:

• The state will distribute free sanitary napkins kits among adolescent girls in urban areas in addition to the ones in rural areas. Postnatal mothers, female inmates in a government hospital and women prisoners will also be provided with the kits.
• The same scheme was also functional in rural areas for nine years. This year the state government has decided to extend it to urban areas. It started in 2011, under late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's rule in Tamil Nadu.
• As reported by TNIE, the scheme will include 1000 government health institutions in metro cities as part of the scheme. A total of Rs 9.41 crore will be spent in supplying those institutions with sanitary napkins.
• The government is planning to cover a majority of adolescent girls by supplying government schools with pads. The rest will go to Urban Health Nurse and ICDS centres. The urban women who will not be covered in government school will receive napkins from Anganwadi workers on Saturdays. These healthcare workers will also visit homes to provide sanitary kit to women in post-natal care.
• If women are in their reproductive age group (which according to the state government is 20-49 years) and are in government hospitals, they will also get free sanitary napkin kits. The same goes for women in post-natal care admitted in state hospitals.