Archana Patkar

In recognition of the opportunity created by the increasing attention to menstrual health at global, regional, and national levels, the World Health Organization’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research and the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction...

Patkar traces the efforts in various countries to break the silence and stigma surrounding menstruation and to develop national policies on menstrual hygiene. She argues that changes in social norms, institutions, and behaviors linked to taboo topics are best facilitated by simple, evidence-based policies anchored in voice and participation. She as...

This paper provides insights from initiatives to include transgender people in sanitation programming in South Asia. Three case studies of recent actions to make sanitation inclusive for transgender people (in India and Nepal) are presented, accompanied by reflections and recommendations to guide future practice. Practitioners are recommended to: e...

Sustainable Development Goal Target 6.2 aims, by 2030, to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation (OD), paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. If we are serious about leaving no one behind, we will need to put human beings first, and infras...

This year’s Women Deliver conference made a strong call for investing in the health and development of adolescents and young people. It highlighted the unique problems faced by adolescent girls and young women–some of the most vulnerable and neglected individuals in the world–and stressed the importance of addressing their needs and rights, not onl...

Today, 2.6 billion people in the world have nowhere safely to defecate on a daily basis or to follow hygienic practices that are important for their health and wellbeing. People are different and require support to overcome the specific impediments that stand in the way of their being able to use services sustainably. There is a greater likelihood...

It seems as if the universally acclaimed need for literacy has recently re-gained currency in India, justifying enormous investment in areas traditionally scorned for their low rate of return. The focus on increased enrolment, retention and achievement in primary education, in conjunction with feverish Total Literacy Campaigns conducted by the Gove...