Sanitary napkin use has grown significantly among rural women beneficiaries of a Union government scheme to provide easy and affordable access to menstrual health services, which offers pads at a subsidised rate of one per rupee.
Speaking about the impact of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’s Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins programme, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on December 14 said, “The most encouraging trend that we have seen is that we have had an uptick in sanitary pads use in rural areas. This was previously restricted to urban population.”
So far, over 47.87 crore of the subsidised pads have been sold under the scheme at over 10,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country, the Ministry said.
Mr. Mandaviya noted that providing facilities to ensure women’s health was among the seven mandates of the Union government, including women’s empowerment, prosperity, and equal participation for women.
He said that the government was running a nutrition campaign with a focus on women’s health. “With the use of digital India, nutrition and all the problems of women and children are being tracked through IT portals,” he said.
