Essity partners with UNICEF Mexico to raise hygiene and feminine care awareness

17 Jun 2022 --- UNICEF Mexico and Essity AB, a global hygiene and health company, has launched an initiative called “hygiene is our right” to raise awareness on the importance of good hygiene. With a focus on feminine care and discomfort regarding menstruation, the project aims to highlight children’s rights and young people in relation to health, education and gender equality.

“Our partnership with UNICEF allows us to jointly educate and drive awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene and to break taboos around menstruation,” Helena Hansen, media relations manager of corporate communications at Essity, tells.

According to a study on sanitation and hygiene in schools in South America, led by UNICEF Mexico, 43% of girls and adolescents in Mexico prefer to stay home during their period rather than go to school.

UNICEF believes that shortage of water and poor hygiene facilities in educational institutes may contribute to lower rates of attendance and weaker academic results. The general knowledge of menstruation is low and in order to prevent discrimination and improve women’s rights, this will need to change, states the company.

Essity’s goal
In the exclusive interview with Hansen, she says Essity has many local initiatives around the world, and its partnership with UNICEF is one of those.

“Through our purpose ‘Breaking Barriers to Well-being’, we are pursuing global and local initiatives to raise awareness and standards for hygiene and health.”

“By sharing insights and stories, and through partnerships and education, we build awareness and promote a public dialogue around topics such as menstruation, incontinence, hand hygiene, lymphedema and endometriosis to improve well-being,” Hansen continues.

Essity is pursuing global and local initiatives to raise awareness and standards for hygiene and health.“Hygiene is our right”
Essity and its feminine care brand in Mexico, Saba, have been in collaboration with UNICEF Mexico since 2016. This initiative has reached 7.5 million people so far. The “hygiene is our right” program followed in 2019, to educate pupils and teachers in Mexico City about the importance of good hygiene and general menstruation information stands as a primary goal.

An additional 200,000 people, including 42,000 pupils and nearly 3,200 teachers all over Mexico have directly benefited from the partnership since 2019. As a part of the program, girls received a period tracker app launched by Saba, that is said to promote menstrual hygiene.

“I have seen with my own eyes how Hygiene is our right has contributed to breaking taboos surrounding menstruation by involving both boys and girls in conversations around periods and engaging local municipalities in the improvement of hand hygiene facilities,” says Joséphine Edwall Björklund, SVP of communications at Essity.

“By extending our partnership with UNICEF for another three years, we are set to increase well-being and equality among children and young people in Mexico even further”, she concludes.

Female hygiene in North America
At the same time, the US faces a nationwide tampon and sanitary pad shortage, which has resulted in price spikes due to supply chain issues for cotton and plastics. In a response letter to the crisis, US Senator Maggie Hassan is placing pressure on the CEOs at Procter & Gamble, Edgewell Personal Care and Kimberly-Clark – major US tampon manufacturers.

“We understand it is frustrating for consumers when they can’t find what they need. We can assure you this is a temporary situation in the US, and the Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products,” a spokesperson at Procter & Gamble, previously told PersonalCareInsights.

By Mieke Meintjes

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