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Dear all,
We have lots of exciting period tax news to share with you on this issue! In addition, we added a new section featuring country-level advocacy updates. And as usual, we compiled upcoming webinars, events and resources for you, including a brand-new report on mapping the disposal of menstrual products.
Enjoy this edition of the Periodical!
Yours,
Ina Jurga
International Coordinator MH Day/ WASH United
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Since the start of 2021, 6 countries have announced to remove or reduce taxes on period products: Ethiopia, Namibia, Slovenia, the Bahamas, and just last month Mexico and Italy. Last week, the state of Michigan passed the law to remove the sales tax – making it 23 US States where products are tax-free, with 27 more to go!
Find all the news and updates on our Periodtax.org website and database.
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Namibia removed the 15% VAT in March 2021 after a short but loud #taxfreeperiodnam campaign. Learn more about the campaign from our interview with Women’s Action for Development (WAD) Namibia here.
Another case study with #MenstruacionDignaMéxico is forthcoming.
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No mas impuestos a la menstruación” (Seminario web en español)
24th de noviembre
14:00 México City , 17:00 Buenos Aires, 15:00 Bogotá,
Les invitamos a participar en este webinar auspiciado por WASH United y el ForoLAC / RHSC donde se expondrá la situación global y los hallazgos de la investigación realizada por WASH United sobre los cambios de precios y campañas para eliminar los impuestos a la menstruación. Asimismo, contaremos con #MenstruaciónDigna_Mx quienes nos presentarán como se realizó la campaña para la eliminación de estos impuestos en México, así como Days for Girls’ de República Dominicana quien nos presentará la campaña que está realizando. Cabe señalar que WASH United ha creado un sitio web www.periodtax.org con infinidad de recursos sobre este tema gracias al apoyo y financiamiento de la Coalición.
Inscripción: https://rhsupplies-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcuutqDIoGNbKZpW9GuvA5-Td1SelS6em
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MORE MENSTRUAL HEALTH & HYGIENE UPDATES
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Country-level advocacy updates
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Malawi's first lady and other ministers supports menstrual equity
On October 11, International Day of the Girl 2021, key stakeholders met in Malawi for an “Advocacy Activation Meeting” focused on advancing menstrual equity. Her Excellency, the First Lady of Malawi, Madam Monica Chakwera’s foundation, Shaping Our Future Foundation (SOFF), UNFPA, and Days for Girls (DfG) Malawi sponsored the meeting. Deputy Minister of Labour, Vera Kamtukule, was the guest of honor and reiterated the government's commitment to achieving menstrual equality. She commended SOFF and DfGs for advocating that girls have MH education and access to menstrual products. SOFF and DfG shared experiences of how many young girls are suffering because of menstrual inequality
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Stakeholders committed to work with local leaders, as custodians of cultural practices, to establish bylaws and use existing structures to address eradicating harmful traditional practices and myths associated with menstruation. SOFF, UNFPA, and DfG will follow up on commitments made as they continue their MH work in communities.
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Upcoming webinars & events
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New e-learning course from Columbia University on MHH launching on 17 November
The expert team from Columbia University has developed self-paced, e-learning course to be launched on 17th November. The course will explore menstrual health and hygiene as a critical public health issue and analyze trends and progress in the global menstrual equity movement, including new legislation and policies.
WASH United has contributed insights from our period tax research, as well as information on the collective impact achieved through MH Day.
Enroll here.
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Contraceptive-Induced Menstrual Changes (CIMC) Global Research and Learning Agenda I 16 November I 11:00 AM EST
Join Innovate Family Planning and Research for Scalable Solutions, both led by FHI 360 and funded by USAID, to learn from experts from both the menstrual health and family planning fields about the new Contraceptive-Induced Menstrual Changes (CIMC) Global Research and Learning Agenda. In Nov 2020, global stakeholders came together for an online technical consultation on CIMCs. Since then, FHI 360 has convened a global, multidisciplinary CIMC Task Force to draft research and learning agendas. Register here.
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If you want more background information on this topic, we recommend this upcoming webinar by the Period Posse. And don't miss out on other webinars in the series!
A Beginner's Guide to Contraceptive-Induced Menstrual Changes (CIMC)
8 December | 8am EST
Register here.
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Other upcoming opportunities when you can highlight the importance of good MHH:
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Y-labs (2021), Project Flow - Mapping barriers to the safe and sustainable disposal of menstrual health products in low- and middle-income countries.
Download
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Warrington, S.; Coultas, M.; Das, M. and Nur, E. (2021), ‘“The Door has Opened”: Moving Forward with Menstrual Health Programming in Bangladesh’, International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare. Download
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UNICEF (2021), New MICS methodological paper on the analysis of menstrual hygiene management data. Download
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Days for Girls (2021),
Advocacy Volunteer Handbook
View
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Please feel free to share your updates, news and new resources via info@menstrualhygieneday.org!
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