About MH Day
Time was, only 10 years ago, that menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) was buried under a thick layer of silence. Hardly anyone talked about the issue in public, and it was not mentioned in the media. All due to the taboo and stigma surrounding it.
Silence is deadly for social issues. When they’re covered in silence, challenges that surround them don’t get addressed and they don’t become relevant for decision-makers.
That’s why WASH United initiated a global day dedicated to menstruation: the Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day), on 28 May. On the first MH Day in 2014, 155 partner organisations participated and 89 media pieces about menstruation were published.
Grown into a global movement
Since then, MH Day has taken place every year and, over the past 10 years, has grown into a global movement. In 2024, our monitoring tools tracked 23,400 pieces of media coverage, and the number of partner organizations has exceeded 1,150.
Their joint mission: Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.
"Together" is crucial. No one can solve the menstruation-related challenges women* face alone. But together, we can.
MH Day serves as a catalyst
The campaign period of MH Day is around May 28. During this time, MH Day serves as a catalyst. Media around the world now have MH Day in their editorial calendars and use the occasion to publish menstruation-related content, including content about MH Day partners. This, combined with events and social media campaigns in particular by partners, generates a massive wave of attention and drives conversation around menstruation worldwide.
A powerful wave
This wave is so powerful that key institutions – such as governments, UN agencies, and big corporates – are pressured to act, for example to launch new large-scale programmes or adopt new policies.
*We recognise that not everyone who menstruates identifies as a woman and that not all women menstruate
WASH United: International Secretariat of MH Day
WASH United not only initiated MH Day but also coordinates the global movement. In addition to serving as the international Secretariat of MH Day, WASH United actively works in menstrual hygiene education, developing and disseminating low-cost, scalable solutions to improve knowledge and reduce stigma. The 15-person non-profit, based in Berlin/Germany, is committed to creating collective impact through collaboration.
They are in constant exchange with partners and make it super-easy for everyone to participate in MH Day by providing a toolbox of free campaign materials and capacity building. Additionally, they work behind the scenes, pushing key actors to mobilize funds and step up programming.
MH Day activities in countries are coordinated by local MH Day partners. In some countries, partners are organised in national coalitions.
- overarching campaign strategy and planning
- development and dissemination of free campaign materials
- coordination and support of 1,000+ partner organisations
- communication via MH Day website and MH Day social media channels
- networking and strategic partnerships
- year-round advocacy for MHH funding and action
- monitoring of the collective impact of MH Day and reporting
- fundraising for the roles of the International Secretariat
The mission of MH Day
Instead of annual themes, the Menstrual Hygiene Day movement now unites behind one long-term mission: Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld.
In a #PeriodFriendlyWorld, the stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation are history. It is a world where everyone can access the products, period education, menstrual health services and period-friendly infrastructure they need.
What is your vision of a #PeriodFriendlyWorld?
Are you a journalist?
The Media Resources section offers key information for journalists. This includes the top 5 things to know about MH Day 2025. Additionally, our experts are ready for quotes, comments, and interviews. We can also connect you with our partners for deeper regional insights.
Impact at a glance
155
1157
Menstrual Hygiene Day has 1,157 official partner organisations, ranging from UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Bank to hundreds of small grassroots NGOs.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most partners. India is the country with the highest number of partners.
89
23400
In 2024, our monitorings tools tracked 23,400 pieces of media coverage – which would fill 171 books, is a 31.25% increase from last year and a new all-time record!
South America really stood out, with media coverage skyrocketing by 801% — from 185 pieces last year to 1,664 this year.
North and Central America continues to be the most active region with 11,573 pieces (49.46% of total). Followed by Asia (17.61%), Europe (17.41%), South America (7.11%), Africa (4.9%) and Oceania (3.51%).
Note: We use the social media and media intelligence tool Meltwater to identify media pieces - published online, on radio or tv, but not including print - between April 29 and June 10 2024. The massive value for North America is also due to the fact that web-pages from e.g. African media outlets are often hosted on U.S. servers and therefore appear in the statistics here.
8000
293000
In 2024, our monitoring tools tracked 293,000 contributions on social media – which would take 42.5 days to read them all, is a 31.98% increase from last year and a new all-time record!
South America has made the biggest leap, recording an increase of 191% — from 2,799 pieces last year to 8,143 this year.
Africa continues to be the most active region with 115,916 contributions (39.56% of total), followed by North and Central America (26.72%), Asia (16.99%), Europe (12.95%), South America (2.78%) and Oceania (1%).
Note: We use the renowned social media and media intelligence tool Meltwater to identify contributions between April 29 and June 10 2024. We can only partially track contributions on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, and we cannot track Instagram stories. Hence, we estimate that the actual number of social media contributions is far higher.
22
966
This is the power of collective action: MH Day 2024 reached 966 million people – that’s 1/8th of the world’s population, a 37.8% increase from last year and a new all-time record! Every post, article, and conversation about menstruation during the campaign phase between April 29 and June 10 2024 made this possible.
But how exactly do we measure "reach"?
We use the renowned social media and media intelligence tool Meltwater to identify all social conversations and online media contributions, as well as to measure the gross reach. Based on this number and with the help of experts from the Meltwater team, we calculate the actual number of people reached.