5 alarming findings from the new report on menstrual health in Ivory Coast

A new study conducted in Ivory Coast by the Citizens’ Organisation for the Promotion and Defence of the Rights of Children, Women and Minorities (CPDEFM) warns that period poverty is pervasive across Greater Abidjan, disproportionately affecting women with no fixed income and school-age girls.

Based on interviews with 2,927 residents in 13 municipalities, the survey notes:

• 44.5% of women without income or girls without pocket money experience acute period poverty
• 15.7% of menstruating respondents struggle to obtain basic sanitary protection
• 55% resort to cloth scraps known as kodjo
• 43% use baby diapers, toilet paper or paper towels, among girls aged 11 - 14
• 60% rely on unsuitable or potentially harmful materials,

The study also revealed that 32% report genital infections linked to unsanitary public toilets, a frequent issue in state schools and 25% suffer pain severe enough to cause absence from school or work.

According to Fratmat.info, stigma remains pronounced, as 66.4% of women from the Northern Mande ethnic group report menstruation-related discrimination. While male respondents acknowledged menstruation as natural, 67% of Muslim men, compared with 30% of Christian men, described it as “dirty” or “impure.”

Public support for government intervention is overwhelming after the study revealed that 100% of participants backed free or subsidised sanitary products, yet 67% say the state plays “no role at all” in menstrual hygiene management.

CPDEFM says the findings “sound the alarm for urgent social and institutional action” to safeguard the health and dignity of Ivorian women and girls.