No girl should miss school just because she is a girl. But the reality is that many girls in the developing world begin to miss up to five days of school each month when they begin menstruating, because they don't have access to puberty education, adequate sanitary protection or sanitary facilities. This repeated absenteeism can result in girls falling behind in their studies, and often, contributes to girls dropping out of school all together.

To combat this, Save the Children has partnered with P&G's Always Protecting Futures Keeping Girls in School  program, which is dedicated to providing puberty education and sanitary protection to vulnerable girls so they can stay in school. Protecting Futures programs are being implemented with adolescent girls in Ethiopia and South Africa. Through the two-year partnership with Save the Children, 9,500 girls are expected to benefit from education on puberty and menstrual hygiene and the provision of sanitary pads — an in-kind donation from Procter & Gamble.

Protecting Futures began as a pilot program in Kenya in 2006, and has since grown with several partners to reach girls in 17 sub-Saharan African countries and India.  Protecting Futures expects to reach 1 million girls by the end of 2010.

As part of this adolescent health program, Save the Children is providing education in puberty, distributing sanitary pads, constructing girl-friendly latrines and wash stations and conducting awareness-building activities with parents, teachers, school administrators and community leaders.

Protecting Futures Keeping Girls in School  was created by P&G's Always and Tampax brands, and is a signature program for P&G's , Live, Learn and Thrive corporate cause,  which has helped over 60 million children in need.

Last Updated August 2009