MH HubAbout
The Menstrual Health Hub is the world’s leading resource for the global menstrual health community
The MH Hub is world’s first digital networking and knowledge platform that unites and strengthens the global menstrual community. The platform provides an online space to connect with those working on menstrual and female health, and hosts free access to a database of relevant menstrual health resources around research, education, policy and innovation.
The Menstrual Health Hub is the community platform of MH Hub UG.
Our purpose
The MH Hub exists to exponentially increase the collective impact of global menstrual health efforts
The three aims of the MH Hub are to:
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Convene the global MH community to advance joint advocacy efforts and facilitate connection, communication and knowledge-sharing
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Build a cross-sectoral and accessible MH evidence base to inform approaches
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Professionalize and strengthen the female health sector as a whole
Who is the Menstrual Health Hub for?
The MH Hub is for individuals and organisations working on menstrual health, menstrual hygiene and menstrual equity. It also includes those working on adolescent girls’ development and education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), women’s health, sexual rights and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and gender equality issues more broadly.
Among the global menstrual health community are international NGOs, grassroots organizations, researchers, policy makers, healthcare providers, educators, investors, donors, corporations, social entrepreneurs, femtech companies, journalists and individual advocates.
What is menstrual health?
Menstrual health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in relation to the menstrual cycle (Hennegan et al., 2021).
As a member of the Terminology Action Group of the Global Menstrual Collective, MH Hub Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Impact Danielle Keiser, is one of the authors of this definition.
— ''I am thrilled to see the definition's comprehensive and inclusive language pave the way for the prioritization of menstrual health as the critical entry point for addressing and improving female health across the lifecycle and the continued professionalization of the nascent menstrual health sector.''
The Glossary for the Global Menstrual Movement
Menstrual Health: Building Blocks & Paving Pathways
Due to its intersectional and omnipresent influence, menstrual health is critical to the achievement of the international common vision laid out in the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals, especially goals 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 12 - ensuring health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth, and responsible consumption and production.
If we skip to the basic building blocks below the paving pathways, we see that these areas make up the foundation of all work around menstrual health, including a definition of what this entails. Important to note is that all the building blocks are embedded into specific cultural contexts, meaning that there is no one-size fits all model for implementing building blocks. At the very bottom, you'll examples of actions of each building block in real-life contexts.
There are different 'paving pathways' in which people and organizations approach improving or catering to the menstrual needs and experiences of women and girls*, and each of these paving pathways use a varied combination of building blocks within their work. Some focus on filling menstrual hygiene needs in poorer communities, others on lobbying for more equitable legislation that acts on the human rights to dignity and access to political participation. On the commercial side, some are oriented towards coaching or educating about the menstrual cycle as a fifth vital sign, producing period products or creating brand new products that address menstrual health needs, such as pain or discomfort. Whatever angle they are taking, 'menstrual health' serves as uniting force because it captures the holistic narrative around menstruation and the entire menstrual experience, from menarche to menopause.
Our philosophy
Menstrual health is a cross-sector issue affecting many areas of women and girls* lives. It includes both menstrual health management and as well as the broader systemic factors that link menstruation with health, well-being, the environment, and equity
Learn more ->Menstrual health is a social issue that affects everyone, not just the people who experience it
Learn more ->A menstruator is a person who menstruates and therefore has menstrual health needs and requires particular information, products and infrastructure to manage their periods safely and with dignity. Not all people who menstruate are women and not all women menstruate
Learn more ->Menstrual health offers the opportunity to understand and address women’s health across the lifecycle and to promote gender equality and empower women as drivers of change
Learn more ->Menstrual solutions are as diverse as the people seeking them
Learn more ->Menstruation is a matter of human rights. It is a precondition for the achievement of wide range of affiliated human rights, such as the right to health, education, dignity, work and water and sanitation. Making use of the human rights framework is vital when striving to realize universal and inalienable rights for girls, women and those who menstruate
Learn more ->Our guiding principles
Cross-sector communication
Engaging all players equally to build bridges which increase awareness around ongoing MH efforts.
Constructive contribution
Encouraging the contribution of MH resources that are valuable to the wider global community
Credit
Promoting the acknowledgement of contributions and crediting shared resources accordingly
Cooperation (through collaboration)
Collective action can help avoid duplication and unnecessary competition
Centralization & connection
Everything related to menstrual health in one place
Curation
Tailored relevant information for the variety of menstrual and female health stakeholders
Our story
The Menstrual Health Hub is a global community of purpose,
with a solid foundation of connecting and sharing knowledge across the space. Learning and growing from the expertise our co-founder Danielle gained from her involvement in the launch of Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day), the MH Hub emerged in 2016 as a collective impact project aimed at professionalizing the nascent menstrual health sector. Thanks to the early support of partners like The Case for Her, WoMena and the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research (SMCR), the MH Hub was able to get its feet off the ground and create an online home where people could find out about each other and progress around MH research, education, policy and innovation.
In 2017, the Global Menstrual Health Registry was launched at SMCR’s 40 year anniversary conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Later that year, the MH Hub took 2nd place at the eBay Startup Cup - Germany and launched the ‘Menstrual Memo' covering the latest from the world of menstrual health. In 2018, the MH Hub was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 60 women-led startups shaking up tech across the globe. And in 2019, the MH Hub was awarded the ‘Power Together’ Award by the Nobel Women’s Initiative for its work to ‘End Period Poverty’ and the stigma of menstruation.
With over 900 organizations registered, more than 1600 resources in the Knowledge Hive, the MH Hub's notable achievements also include infuencing and shaping the MHH agenda at high-level events, launching the Berlin Female Health Collective, hosting on- and offline events with partners, and partnering with various organizations aligned on menstruation matters.
In 2021, the MH Hub tranformed into an interactive social networking and knowledge platform to give those the opportunity to more directly connect with each other. The MH Hub is constantly evolving to better ensure that female health is prioritized as we move towards a more gender equal world.
The Menstrual Health Hub is the community platform of MH Hub UG.
Our reach
to our
Menstrual Memo
on the global
Menstrual Map
in the MH
Knowledge Hive
on the global
Menstrual Map
