The 28^th of May was International Menstrual Hygiene Day with the social media handles of #ItsTimeForAction, #MHDAY2020 and #PeriodsInPandemics. Pandemic or not, girls and women will continue to have periods, and this year's messages were around ending period stigma; ensuring period education for all; and ending period poverty so that all girls and women have access to menstrual products. Menstrual health and hygiene are not only about menstrual products but also about emotional and mental wellbeing in relation to the menstrual cycle. At school menstrual health and hygiene should be included as part of education about all aspects of puberty, for boys and girls. Menstrual health and hygiene can impact girls' participation in school, increase their stress, and affect their self-efficacy. Due to lockdowns and school closures, girls' access to information about menstruation and to menstrual products is disrupted, which could lead to further increases in stress. Extended school closures also result in increased domestic and caring responsibilities for girls, and increased risks of early and forced marriages, sexual abuse, and unintended pregnancy. Therefore, there is a need for home learning to include comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which contributes to gender equitable attitudes, increased confidence and self-efficacy, and develops life skills such as informed decision-making, communication and effective negotiation, and assertiveness. Whether a learner has access to online teaching, to printed materials, or to radio and tv based education, it is important that content on puberty, sexuality, sexual and reproductive health and life skills continue to be included

Where learners have access to online learning:

• Ensure that lesson plans include discussions on sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, and life skills, including how to remain safe online
• Provide links to websites and videos that learners can access in their own time to learn more about these topics, e.g. AMAZE; BISHUK (for over 14 year olds); Scarleteen
• Track girls' access to online learning and encourage families to ensure girls have the time and space to do so
  

• Send reading and writing materials home, including content on puberty, sexuality and sexual and reproductive health (depending on the age of the learner)
• Explore other options like community radio or television broadcasts 
• Support parents to learn more about sexuality and CSE, and provide them with tools, so they can talk to their children at home 
  

• Ensure that CSE continues to be provided, along with other examinable subjects, and specifically the challenges that learners may have faced during school closure
• Ensure a gender-responsive approach to bringing girls back to school, with provision of menstrual hygiene management and addressing mental wellbeing ​

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