HerGhana
Founder: Mama Adzorhlor III
We envision a future where sustainable, affordable menstrual products allow Ghanaian girls to stay at school, stay safe, and be all they can be.
In sub-Saharan African countries like Ghana, 9 out of 10 girls miss school up to 20% of the year, due to a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and stigma. The economic impacts, locally and nationally, of this loss of potential are staggering and we are trying to address this using a culturally sensitive, community led, scalable initiative that specifically targets rural Ghana.
Period poverty is a global challenge, including in developed countries such as Canada. It affects all of us in one way or another. Supporting the full development and potential of girls and women is a route to a safer, healthier, more just and more productive world for everyone.
From Mama Adzorhlor III: “My Path to HERGhana. In 2013 I was appointed by the elders of Dagbamete, Ghana as Queen Mother. I recognized that young women and young mothers in Ghana are deeply disadvantaged in the dimension of menstrual health leading to poor outcomes in health, safety, education, and economic participation. Having experienced these conditions myself as a girl and young woman, I began running programs in 2016 to distribute menstrual products and raising awareness for menstrual health in Dagbamete. This journey led me to officially incorporate HERGhana as a Ghanaian NPO in December 2023. Our main goal is to make menstrual products available for young girls and young mothers starting with Volta Region and expanding across Ghana”.
Explain what your startup does as a solution to the problem stated HERGhana has a multi-faceted approach 1. Providing Bfree cups, suited specifically to Ghanaian period poverty, to provide effective relief for free 2. Breaking taboos through community education programming to make menstruation safe and shame-free 3. Building long-term capacities within communities by engaging stakeholders, and installing trained local ambassadors to maintain quality programming 5. Describe how your startup has impact.
Our pilot program has so far distributed 600 Bfree cups in the Volta region, educative over 600 girls and women in menstrual hygiene and reproductive health and collected user data relating to ease of use and satisfaction with both the product and the train. Data suggest significant positive impact so far.
