In 2020, I sat with Kema, a 16-year-old student in rural Montserrado County, as she explained why she missed school for five days every month. "The cheapest pads cost $2," she told me, her eyes fixed on the ground. "That's more than my father makes in a day."
Her story was the first but not the last one that I’ve heard about the high cost of sanitary products. Indeed, her words echo across Liberia, where an estimated 30% of women and girls cannot afford basic menstrual products, according to recent Ministry of Health surveys. This forces many to use unsafe alternatives—old cloth, newspapers, even dried leaves—risking their health and dignity.
Current approaches to period poverty focus primarily on donations. In 2024, for instance , Breakthrough ACTION, a Johns Hopkins-led initiative delivered sanitary pad to 77,000 adolescent girls across 12 counties. In previous years, in 2022, UNFPA Liberia partnered with the Office of the Vice President to supply disposable and non-disposable sanitary pads to 512 schools While impactful, these interventions underscore our dependence on external aid and the urgent need for long-term, homegrown solutions that create lasting economic impact
We've been treating symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes of period poverty. Instead, there is a way to address this problem and improve economic power for some women.
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Every year, Liberia spends over $2 million importing menstrual products money that leaves our economy—while 85% of working-age women remain unemployed or underemployed. We are not short on talent. We are short on opportunity.
In over a decade working in public health across West Africa, I’ve seen how quickly things can shift when women are trusted as leaders and builders. From Kenya to South Africa, women-led enterprises in menstrual health are not just improving access—they’re creating thriving businesses.
In Kenya, Ecobanana Limited has created over 3,000 jobs by producing eco-friendly, affordable pads, with each pack priced at just $0.50—significantly cheaper than imported alternatives. In South Africa, Lindiwe Sanitary Pads , the continent’s first large-scale, women-led pad manufacturer, employs single mothers, generates an estimate over a $5 million annually, and sells a pack of pads for only $0.78, far less than the price in Liberia. These are not just success stories; they are roadmaps.
According to the African Development Bank , women-led businesses in the menstrual health sector reinvest up to 90% of their earnings into their communities, compared to just 35% for male-owned businesses. When women lead, everyone gains.
Here in Monrovia, I’ve met seamstresses and entrepreneurs who already hold the skills to transform our menstrual economy, what they lack is support. One women’s cooperative, with just $5,000 in seed funding, built a small reusable pad business that now supports 15 families and sells and supplies three schools.
We estimate that a strong menstrual economy in Liberia could create 2,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs in just five years drawing on the job creation patterns of other local manufacturers and could reduce sanitary pads by over 50% Getting there means bold, coordinated action:
- Eliminate the 50% Import Duty on raw materials and machinery for menstrual product manufacturing.
- Fund Women Entrepreneurs. A $5 million investment could launch 20 manufacturing units, ensure supply and drive down cost. Key sources of funding include government agencies, development organizations, private sector investors, corporate social responsibility programs, and philanthropists. By pooling resources from these sectors, we can empower women-led businesses, drive economic growth, and foster local production.
- Invest in Training. Through partnerships with countries like Kenya and Rwanda, we can bring technical training in manufacturing, quality control, and distribution to Liberia’s doorstep.
I think of Bendu, a bright student who had to leave school in ninth grade because she couldn’t afford pads, whom I met during an outreach in rural Bong County. Or Ma Kebeh, a market woman I met during a similar visit, who loses days of income every month during her menstrual cycle.. Their names are not data points. They reflect what we stand to lose or build depending on the choices we make.
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By prioritizing local production, Liberia could reduce the cost of menstrual products by 30–50%, based on regional comparisons. More importantly, we ensure that access is no longer dependent on charity, but on a functioning, inclusive economy.
Menstrual health is not a side issue. It is a lens through which we see our national priorities: who we support, what we invest in, and how we measure dignity.
This Menstrual Hygiene Day, as the world speaks out against period poverty, Liberia has the chance to show what leadership looks like. The potential is here. The question is: will we act?
Let’s meet this moment with the urgency it deserves and the belief that Liberian women and girls deserve more than makeshift solutions. They deserve momentum. They deserve investment. And they deserve dignity.
Fenny Louise Taylor is the Founder of Urmonae Health Liberia, a social enterprise focusing on transforming Liberia's menstrual economy. She’s a 2024-2025 Aspen Institute Impact West Africa fellow.
