Monitor MHH

Adequate and validated indicators are essential for tracking progress on addressing menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) as an important health, education, gender equality, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issue. A group of MHH experts from Columbia University, the Burnet Institute, Emory University, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Save the Children, and WaterAid initiated a collaborative effort in partnership with monitoring and measurement experts globally and at country level. This effort seeks to identify, develop, and promote uptake of indicators with related measures to enable future validation across contexts and to support national and global monitoring. To date, this initiative has focused on the menstruation-related issues impacting girls in and out of school, as they represent the population for which there exists the strongest existing body of evidence.

Key Resources:

• Guidance: Priority List of Indicators for Girls' MHH: Technical Guidance for National Monitoring
  • Available in: English | Arabic | French | Spanish | Bengali 
• Guidance Summary: Priority List of Indicators for Girls' MHH: Technical Guidance for National Monitoring
  • Available in: English | Portuguese |​​​​​​​ Mandarin |​​​​​​​ Russian |​​​​​​​ Bahasa Indonesia
• Guidance: Integrating MHH Indicators into Research and Program Monitoring 
• Fact Sheet: Compilation of MHH Indicators
• Training Decks (*Please click here to receive the powerpoint versions*)
  • Uptake of MHH Indicators and Measures: Training on SCHOOL-LEVEL indicators
  • Uptake of MHH Indicators and Measures: Training on INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL indicators
• National Monitoring Summaries: 
  • Assessing National Monitoring of Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Synthesis of Learning from Four Countries
  • Rolling Out the Priority Indicators for Monitoring Menstrual Health and Hygiene Nationally - Lessons Learned
• Country-Specific Menstrual Health and Hygiene Monitoring and Assessment Summaries
  • Available for: Egypt |​​​​​​​ Jordan ​​​​​|​​​​​​​ Nigeria |​​​​​​​ Pakistan 
• Green Paper (2019): Monitoring MHH: Measuring Progress for Girls on Menstruation
• Article (2021): How addressing menstrual health and hygiene may enable progress across the Sustainable Development Goals, Global Health Action, 14:1. 
• Article (2023): Indicators for National and Global Monitoring of Girls' Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Development of a Priority Shortlist, Journal of Adolescent Health, 73:6

Collaborative Process:

To date, this initiative is comprised of four phases: Phase 1 (completed) assessed MHH measurement priorities across relevant sectors. Phase 2 (completed) identified priority MHH indicators for national-level monitoring in partnership with exemplar countries. Phase 3 (completed) is focused on the dissemination and uptake of the indicators to enable validation across contexts and to strengthen national and global monitoring of MHH for increased action. Phase 4 (ongoing) is to build on the previous three phases and map out an approach to advance the global MHH agenda through 2030 and beyond.