50% of girls, women do not include sanitary napkins in their expenses: Advocata Institute

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama  
Due to the affordability of sanitary napkins, half the number of girls and women in Sri Lanka do not include sanitary napkins in their household expenditures, the Advocata Institute said.  
They said the affordability of sanitary napkins and its significant impact on the welfare of girls and women in Sri Lanka has become more pronounced in recent years.  
This is particularly evident due to the decline in their purchasing powers stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.   
Approximately four million Sri Lankans have descended into poverty since 2019, making the total number of Sri Lankans living in poverty approximately 7 million.   
Therefore, it is necessary to examine the ramifications of the lack of affordability of sanitary napkins which has been worsened by the imposition of high taxes on sanitary napkins.  
Assuming a woman’s menstrual cycle lasts five days with a requirement of four sanitary napkins per day, a menstruating woman in Sri Lanka would typically spend Rs.375 per period if a user opts for the cheapest choice available. That is an annual expenditure of Rs.4,500.   

“The Advocata Institute conducted an analysis utilizing the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) to calculate Sri Lanka’s absolute household period poverty rate, aiming to understand the accessibility of sanitary napkins for menstruating Sri Lankan girls and women. Our findings reveal that in 2016, the absolute household period poverty rate stood at approximately 50%.   
“The absolute household period poverty rate has decreased to around 40%, indicating an improvement. These figures however reflect the situation prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis with extremely high inflation which significantly diminished purchasing power,” Advocata said.